Professor Dr. Martin Winterkorn, 71, stood down as FC Bayern München AG supervisory board member at yesterday's FC Bayern München AG supervisory board meeting. He had informed supervisory board chairman Uli Hoeneß of his decision in writing on 9 December.

Winterkorn was an FC Bayern München AG supervisory board member for almost 16 years. As Audi AG chairman, Winterkorn initiated the successful partnership between Audi and FC Bayern. Moreover, he was responsible for Audi AG's acquisition of 8.33 percent of FC Bayern München AG shares in 2010. "FC Bayern München have become a top club in world football over the last two decades, not only in terms of sport but also financially," declared Winterkorn. "It makes me proud that I accompanied the club on this path through my work on the supervisory board."

Winterkorn was exceedingly appreciated on the FC Bayern München AG supervisory board as a constructively critical but always loyal member. "FC Bayern is losing an outstanding supervisory board member, he was of enormous importance for FC Bayern's development in the last 16 years. We are extraordinarily grateful to him for that," said Hoeneß: "We wish Martin Winterkorn all the best, and we very much hope he will be our guest for football matches at the Allianz Arena and our basketballers' matches at the Audi Dome. Martin Winterkorn will always be a friend of the club and also my personal friend."