Former football world champion Franz Beckenbauer is also not traveling to the current World Cup in Qatar for health reasons. The 77-year-old told the magazine "Bunte". He is feverish with the DFB team of national coach Hansi Flick. "But I will not travel to Qatar. I'll keep my fingers crossed for our team in front of the television," said Beckenbauer the magazine, which published an excerpt in advance. He was last in a stadium a year ago. This is exhausting for him.

Beckenbauer spoke of health problems. "I had a so-called eye attack in one eye. Unfortunately, I can't see anything on the right side. I can deal with that. And I have to be careful with my heart." The former Bayern professional is currently receiving a lot of autograph mail, which he is happy to answer. "People probably think he never lives long. But I'll try to stay with you for a while," said Beckenbauer.

He was world champion as a player in 1974 and world champion as a coach in 1990. In recent years, the headlines about possible bribery in the run-up to the award of the 2006 World Cup to Germany have dominated the headlines about his person. This was not proven.