German magazine SportBild have an impressive double interview in their edition this week with Bayern Munich’s Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Borussia Dortmund’s Hans-Joachim Watzke.
The club chiefs have spoken on a wide variety of things and one of the hot topics in German football right now is the 50+1 rule, a subject which brought Watzke to speak about Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
The 50+1 rule ensures that Bundesliga clubs must have a controlling block owned by members. Volkswagen owned Wolfsburg and Bayer (a chemical and pharmaceutical company) owned Bayer Leverkusen are exceptions because of the long term nature of their investment and association with the football clubs.
A few clubs have looked to challenge this, including TSV 1860 Munich, believing it holds back investment and therefore means there’ll always be a status quo in German football. Investors are put off because they wouldn’t have the controlling power regardless of how much money they put in.
Asked about the rule one day going, Dortmund’s Watzke doesn’t think it’s a good idea, because most potential owners aren’t like Chelsea’s.
“Most of the clubs don’t have an Abramovich, whose first goal is to win at Chelsea. Most investors want to make money. And where do they get it? The fans.”
Abramovich has long been the subject of much suspicion at Chelsea, because many have found it hard to believe his only intention is football success at Stamford Bridge. If the Russian did come to sell the club then he’d find it was worth far more than when he took over, but that’s because of the huge investment he’s made. The worry in Germany is that potential Bundesliga investors may not have such a long term view as Abramovich has clearly taken at Chelsea.
Watzke clearly favours the Abramovich approach, and sees it as the positive side of the coin. Even that could end up being a threat to Bayern and Dortmund, because if someone with the finances and will of the Chelsea owner took over Borussia Monchengladbach, for example, within a few years they could be Bundesliga champions.
