Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Uli Hoeneß, 10 Years After Release, Calls Prison a Defining Lesson in Responsibility

In a Bild interview tied to the anniversary, the Bayern honorary president recounts a covert midnight release that reshaped his outlook.

Overview

  • He says he was freed from JVA Landsberg shortly after midnight on February 29, 2016, collected by his wife and son, then welcomed at home by friends and a brass band before playing Schafkopf until about 5 a.m.
  • He reports receiving about 5,500 letters during his sentence, many from strangers, which he keeps in a box and which at times brought him to tears, including messages from figures such as Sir Alex Ferguson.
  • He no longer keeps contact with former fellow inmates and recalls unsettling moments, including waking to a murderer sitting by his bed and telling his life story.
  • According to Hoeneß, the prison director told him he was the only inmate to leave with a “fan club” among both prisoners and staff.
  • Hoeneß was convicted of tax evasion in 2014 and released in 2016 after serving roughly half of his three-and-a-half-year sentence.