Michael Schumacher’s old manager reveals why he has ‘no hope’ of ever seeing him again, 10 years on from his tragic skiing accident which left his former boss ‘mourning like a dog’
- December 29 will mark a decade since Michael Schumacher’s tragic skiing injury
- The Formula One legend has not been seen publicly since the accident in France
- His old manager Willi Weber reveals why he has ‘no hope’ of seeing him again
Michael Schumacher’s former manager Willi Weber has admitted he has ‘no hope’ of seeing the Formula One legend again, after a decade of ‘no positive news’ following his tragic skiing accident.
Schumacher, who won seven world championships in Formula One before his retirement, has not appeared publicly since suffering a serious head injury while skiing in the French resort of Meribel in 2013.
The German was placed in a medically induced coma and has since been cared for by his wife Corinna and a team of medical staff at the family’s Lake Geneva home.
Weber, 81, was Schumacher’s manager until 2012 and helped turn the Formula One icon into one of the highest earning sports stars in history at the time.
Business aside, the former talent scout and manager held a close relationship with Schumacher and his family, having also represented the driver’s brother Ralf in Formula One until November 2005.
Michael Schumacher’s old manager Willi Weber has admitted that he has ‘no hope’ of seeing the F1 legend again, after a decade of ‘no positive news’ following his tragic skiing accident
Weber (right) was Schumacher’s manager until 2012, a year before the Formula One icon (left) suffered a life-threatening head injury while skiing on holiday in the French resort of Meribel
Opening up on Schumacher’s accident, Weber revealed that he grieved ‘like a dog’ upon hearing the tragic news and now has no hope of seeing the 54-year-old again.
He told the Cologne Express: ‘When I think of Michael now, unfortunately I don’t have anymore hope that I will see him again. No positive news after ten years.’
When asked whether he regrets not visiting his former protégé immediately after the incident, Weber added: ‘Of course, I regret that very much and blame myself. I should have visited Michael in the hospital. I mourned like a dog after his accident.
The former manager, now aged 81, is pictured in Wiesbaden, Germany in 2018
‘It hit me incredibly hard, you can imagine that. But at some point, the point came when I had to free myself from Michael and let go.
‘Even three or four years later, people who recognised me kept asking me: “You’re Schumacher’s ex-manager. How is Michael?” Then I stopped trying to explain and thought, “Why doesn’t anyone ask how I’m doing?”
‘For me it was clear: “Well, now it’s over. This crap needs to get out of my head”.’
Revealing he was ‘still angry’ after being ‘kept out’ of Schumacher’s inner circle, Weber astonishingly claimed in July 2022 that the family ‘lied’ in an effort to stop him visiting his former client.
He told Gazzetta dello Sport last year: ‘It was a huge pain for me. I tried hundreds of times to contact Corinna and she didn’t answer. I called Jean Todt to ask him if I should go to the hospital and he told me to wait – “it’s too early”.
‘I called the next day, and no one answered,’ he continued. ‘I didn’t expect behaviour like that and I’m still angry about it.
‘They kept me out, telling me, “It’s too early”, well, now it’s too late. It’s been nine years. Maybe they should just say it the way it is.’
Schumacher and his wife Corinna pictured on a skiing holiday in northern Italy back in 2005
‘I could understand the situation initially as I always did everything I could for Michael to protect his private life. But since then, we seem to have only heard lies from them.
‘Years after the accident, I said to myself to just look out for the family as I couldn’t change things. He was like a son to me. Even today it hurts me to talk about it.’
Weber appears to have changed his opinion on the matter now, having this week told the Cologne Express that he ‘blames himself’.
December 29 will mark exactly 10 years since Schumacher’s tragic accident.
Source: Read Full Article