Looking back, Philipp Lahm considers the resignation of Reinhard Grindel as DFB President at the beginning of April to be unavoidable. From day one, Grindel had been committed to the issues of transparency and cleanliness.
“As a learned politician, he must know that under these circumstances he must act overcorrectly and unassailably at every stage. There was no alternative to his resignation as DFB President,” Lahm told Sport Bild. Personally, he was sorry that Grindel’s presidency ended like this.
Grindel had justified his departure with the acceptance of a luxury watch from a Ukrainian functionary. In addition, reports about a supposedly disguised additional income of 78,000 euros at the DFB had greatly increased the pressure on the former DFB treasurer.
2014 World Champion Lahm, who was in charge of the organisation of the EM 2024, had been considered a possible successor to Grindel. Lahm waved his arms off again. “I’m not interested in posts – I don’t think about them,” he said.
When planning the home tournament, Lahm focuses on “maximum transparency”. We want to prove “that a major event can take place without negotiating any deals in the back room,” said Lahm. “We want to initiate a change that is exemplary: towards more openness, clarity and fairness.
The EURO 2024 is a unique opportunity for atmospheric and social change in Germany. “We have to use them. What we do now must sit,” said Lahm.
Lahm does not currently want to deal with a possible engagement with record champion Bayern Munich after the tournament. “I don’t want to rule out the possibility that one day there might be another collaboration. But I’ve always been good at thinking about decisions when I can directly influence them through my yes or no. That’s definitely not the case on this issue right now, and we all know how different the world can look in five years,” said the 35-year-old.
