Former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness claims Bayern want to scrap the ‘50+1’ ownership rule
Uli Hoeness says Bayern Munich are falling behind in the Champions League and the club is looking to abolish the ‘50+1’ ownership rule set in Bundesliga
Uli Hoeness claims Bayern want to break tradition
Bayern Munich’s honorary president spoke against the Deutsche Fußball Liga’s strict regulations on Thursday. The ‘50+1’ rule enforced by the organization states that fans have to be the majority shareholders of each club.
“We would be totally in favor of the 50+1 rule falling.”
There have been exceptions to the rule with the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, which are owned by pharmaceutical giants Bayer and Wolfsburg, which are owned by Volkswagen. This also includes RB Leipzig, who found a loophole in the rule when the club was acquired by Red Bull in 2009.
“We would be totally in favor of the 50+1 rule falling because we are falling behind internationally,” said Hoeness. “We also have to give the smaller clubs opportunities to be competitive. I am in favor of each club making their own decisions.”
Hoeness thinks that with the way that the market is moving, German clubs won’t be able to compete in Europe. Bayern defeated PSG 1-0 in the Champions League last-16 round recently. However, Hoeness pointed to PSG as a team that has immense spending power.
“For comparison: Paris have €750million in personnel costs,” Hoeness claimed. “But I have to say, I’m excited about winning against them. The game proved that money doesn’t always score goals.”
