Franz Beckenbauer, the emperor, said goodbye quietly. Without media hype, just with his family. His health has recently become worse and worse.
Munich/Salzburg – In the end, Franz Beckenbauer said goodbye away from the big stage. The emperor fell asleep forever on Sunday (January 7th) surrounded by his immediate family. Beckenbauer’s family only informed the public of the sad news on Monday.
Franz Beckenbauer could hardly speak lately
While the emperor was always in the media spotlight during his lifetime, Beckenbauer’s public appearances became an absolute rarity, especially last year. At the beginning of 2023, the sports icon appeared to the media for the last time at the traditional carp dinner in Kitzbühel.
As a result, Beckenbauer’s health continued to decline. The Picture reports that the emperor ultimately had no chance against Parkinson’s disease. In his final weeks, Beckenbauer was bedridden and could hardly speak. The figure of light finally lost interest in life.
“It was a relief for Franz”: Beckenbauer, driven away, suffers with Kaiser
Former companions also recently reported on the emperor’s poor condition. “He ended up feeling bad. He didn’t want to see his friends anymore, he was a lonely old man,” reports Helmut Markwort in the magazine he founded Focus. The 87-year-old was a member of the FC Bayern supervisory board under President Beckenbauer for many years.
The emperor could no longer even play Schafkopf, a popular Bavarian card game. “He also had trouble speaking and seeing,” says Markwort, and is certain that “it was a relief for Franz.”
Andreas Brehme met Beckenbauer in August
Marcel Reif, cult commentator and long-time companion of Beckenbauer, also echoes the same sentiments. “I’m glad he’s saved. In the end, he didn’t want to see anyone or be seen anymore,” reports Reif Sky. The expert also blamed the public for the emperor’s poor health.
One person who last saw Beckenbauer was Andreas Brehme. The 1990 world champion reports to t online: “I last saw him in person in August. He made a somewhat weakened impression, but was still relatively positive and in a reasonably good mood.” A good six months later, the emperor finally said goodbye to his world. (kk)