Kay Bernstein has only been President of Hertha BSC for a few months, but he says there is enough time to initiate important processes. They are also urgently needed, because earlier decision-makers had left a “mammoth task” behind.
Six months after taking office, President Kay Bernstein does not give a good hair to the previous decision-makers at Bundesliga soccer club Hertha BSC. “Hertha took the second step before the first and got brutally wrong,” said Bernstein in the “Kicker” interview: “The club wanted too much too quickly – and returned to reality too late.”
The 374 million euros from investor Lars Windhorst have mostly been used up, the club in the capital is facing uncertain times, both financially and sportingly. “We know that turning this legacy around is a mammoth task, but we have the power to do it,” said Bernstein. When it comes to the consolidation plan, he calls for creativity and staying power. He doesn’t see any liquidity problems at the moment, but: “One thing is clear: we have to tighten our belts without squeezing our breath.”
The former Hertha-Ultra Bernstein, who surprisingly prevailed in the election at the end of June against the entrepreneur and politician Frank Steffel, who is very well networked in Berlin, also reported better cooperation within the club. “It’s a process that isn’t over yet. But we’re well on the way to getting the poison out,” said the President. He felt a “greater togetherness”, they had “created a sense of togetherness and reunited the club”.
Windhorst joined the Berlin club with his company Tennor in 2019 and acquired shares in the outsourced professional department for 374 million euros. After numerous arguments, he declared in early October that he would end his investment in Hertha and sell his shares. He had offered the shares to the club for buyback “at the purchase price at the time”. Windhorst eventually sold his shares in Hertha BSC to the Miami-based company 777 Partners. “777 Partners, a strategic investor in football clubs worldwide, and Tennor Holding have agreed that 777 Partners will acquire Tennor’s 64.7 percent stake in Hertha BSC GmbH