Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge stated the obvious last week – that the German Bundesliga is falling behind the English Premier League.
The Bundesliga has been trailing the English competition for a long time, however, the gap broadened recently with the EPL agreeing a television broadcast deal believed to be worth £5.136 billion for three seasons, beginning in the 2016-17 campaign (£1.712 billion per season). The deal is worth roughly four times more than the estimated £437 million received by the Bundesliga each season.
There are numerous reasons as to why the EPL attracts a greater audience. A greater number of international stars, a greater quantity of teams operating with large budgets, the global use of the English language and, most importantly, it has a greater level of competition than the Bundesliga…or as some fans call it ‘Bayernliga’.
Unlike the Bundesliga, the EPL does not have an expected winner prior to the season starting. There are realistically four or five teams with a chance of taking home the trophy each year. Bet365 lists their EPL favourite Chelsea at £2.50 odds for the title. Their fourth title favourite is Manchester United, who they list at £6.00 odds. In contrast, Bayern Munich is the overwhelming Bundesliga favourites paying just £1.10. Second favourites Wolfsburg are at £17.00 odds.
Bayern’s domestic dominance is not a new position by any means. They have won the previous three Bundesliga titles by 10, 19 and 25 point margins respectively. It is somewhat surprising that they have won only seven out of the last 10 titles.
The main reason that the Bundesliga is a one club competition is Bayern Munich themselves. By far the financially dominant outfit in Germany, they implement a strict protectionist stance. They use their financial advantage to consistently poach players from their domestic rivals. Recent examples of this were against Borussia Dortmund who, led by Jurgen Klopp, won the 2010-11 and 2011-12 Bundesliga titles. The following season Bayern activated the release clause for highly promising youngster Mario Gotze, and after that they signed star forward Robert Lewandowski on a free transfer following Borrussia Dortmund’s refusal to sell him the year prior. They also made approaches for BVB stars Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogen.
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Other recent recruits from within the Bundesliga were highly prized after defender Dante who was signed following a breakout year during the 2011/12 campaign with Borussia Monchengladbach. They also attempted to recruit then team mate Marco Reus whom, however, decided to sign with rivals Dortmund.
Now following their recent Bundesliga winning campaign they are actively pursuing runners-up Wolfsburg’s star, Kevin De Bruyne. The player has told the media that his future is up in the air but has confirmed his agent has held talks with Bayern Munich.
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Undoubtedly in all major leagues, including the EPL, there is some level of poaching from the big clubs against their opponents. Recent examples in the EPL include Raheem Sterling’s £49 million transfer from Liverpool to Manchester City. Similarly, Arsenal lost Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie to Manchester City and Manchester United respectively. These are, however, for the most part, outliers. There are a greater number of clubs in England that have the financial ability and club prestige to be able to attract and hold onto world class players. In Germany however, Munich treat any name in the league as attainable, and in most cases they are proved right.
While Bayern Munich’s lower domestic television revenue is putting them at a disadvantage. It is to an extent offset by their high merchandise sales, ticket sales and continuous presence in the later stages of the Champions League. However, despite their worldwide brand and on-field dominance, they run the long term risk of being unable to financially compete with the English clubs.
Rummenigge was correct when he stated that the German league was being left behind their English counterparts. The end result of Bayern Munich’s protectionist policy is that the Bundesliga is now the most predictable league in Europe. However, until Die Roten start to feel the financial consequences of their domestic monopolisation, they are unlikely to identify themselves as a prime offender.
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