Berlin — Hertha BSC is standing at a crossroads. With mounting debt, aging infrastructure, and growing concerns over fan safety following recent violence in Dresden, the club’s managing director Peter Görlich has delivered a stark assessment: Hertha must undergo a radical transformation to survive.
“Wir sind ein Klub, der sich radikal verändern muss,” Görlich told German media outlet FAZ in an interview published April 2026. “We are a club that must radically change.” The words carry weight not just as rhetoric, but as a reflection of the deep structural challenges facing one of Germany’s most storied football institutions.
Hertha BSC, a founding member of the Bundesliga in 1963, has not avoided relegation since the 2022–23 season, when it dropped to 2. Bundesliga after a 17th-place finish. The club spent the 2023–24 season in Germany’s second tier before earning promotion back to the Bundesliga via the relegation playoffs, defeating Hamburger SV 2–1 on aggregate in May 2024. But the return to top-flight football has not eased financial pressures.
According to the German Football League (DFL), Hertha reported operating losses exceeding €40 million for the 2023–24 season, with total liabilities surpassing €180 million as of December 2024. Much of this debt stems from stadium-related investments and player wages sustained during periods of relegation, when Bundesliga television revenue — a critical income stream — is significantly reduced.
The club’s home ground, the Olympiastadion in Berlin, presents another layer of complexity. While iconic — built for the 1936 Olympics and renovated for the 2006 World Cup — the venue is underutilized for Hertha’s matchday needs. The stadium, owned by the state of Berlin, carries high fixed costs, and Hertha does not control ancillary revenue streams such as naming rights, concessions, or non-matchday events. Görlich has previously noted that the club receives less than 15% of total matchday revenue from the Olympiastadion, a figure far below Bundesliga peers like Borussia Dortmund or Bayern Munich, who operate their own stadiums.
Infrastructure at the club’s training facility in Britz has also drawn criticism. In early 2025, fan groups and local media reported deteriorating conditions at the youth academy and professional training grounds, including outdated locker rooms and insufficient medical and recovery spaces. Görlich acknowledged these shortcomings in his FAZ interview, stating that “modern football demands modern environments — and we are falling short.”
Beyond finances and facilities, recent events have intensified scrutiny on matchday security. During Hertha’s 2. Bundesliga away match at Dynamo Dresden on March 30, 2025, clashes erupted between Hertha supporters and local police following the game. Over 20 fans were detained, and several officers were injured, according to Saxony police reports. The incident prompted the DFB (German Football Association) to open a procedural review, with potential sanctions including fines or stadium bans under discussion.
Görlich condemned the violence but used it as a catalyst for broader reflection. “Safety is non-negotiable,” he said. “But we also need to ask why certain segments of our fanbase feel alienated — and how we rebuild trust not just in security, but in the club’s direction.”
The path forward, according to Görlich, involves difficult decisions across multiple fronts. Player sales are expected to play a central role. While no official list has been released, transfermarkt.de and kicker.it have reported interest in several Hertha assets, including midfielder Marten Winkler and forward Fabian Reese. Winkler, 24, has made 42 appearances since joining from SC Paderborn in 2023, while Reese, 26, contributed six goals and four assists in 28 league games last season. Both players are under contract until 2027, but their market value — estimated collectively at €8–12 million by Transfermarkt — could provide crucial liquidity.
“No player is untouchable,” Görlich said when asked about potential departures. “We must balance sporting ambition with financial reality. If a sale strengthens our long-term stability, we will consider it.”
The club’s leadership has also signaled openness to strategic investment. In late 2024, Hertha explored partnerships with international investment groups, though no deal was finalized. Sources close to the club indicated that potential investors sought equity stakes in exchange for debt relief and infrastructure upgrades, but negotiations stalled over governance concerns and fan opposition to foreign ownership models.
For now, Hertha’s immediate focus is on stabilizing the squad ahead of the 2025–26 Bundesliga season. The team finished 14th in the 2024–25 campaign with 38 points — just five above the relegation zone. Head coach Timo Schultz, appointed in December 2023, retains the backing of management, but Görlich acknowledged that results must improve if the club is to avoid another relegation battle.
“We need consistency,” Görlich said. “Not just on the pitch, but in our leadership, our finances, and our relationship with the fans. This isn’t about one fix — it’s about a sustained effort to rebuild trust and competitiveness.”
The next checkpoint for Hertha BSC is the official release of the 2025–26 Bundesliga fixture list, expected in late June 2025. Until then, the club will continue pre-season preparations at its Britz training base, with a friendly match against Swedish side AIK Stockholm scheduled for July 12, 2025, at the Olympiastadion.
For fans and observers, the message is clear: Hertha BSC is no longer asking whether change is needed. It is accepting that transformation is unavoidable — and that the cost of inaction may be far greater than the discomfort of reform.
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