The 50+1 rule, regarded by many Bundesliga fans as a pillar of football culture in Germany, is facing some sustained skepticism from a surprising source — Bayern Munich executives.
Surprising, because they don’t seem to want it for themselves but rather for rival clubs. The rule, which constrains outside investment in clubs by stipulating that the clubs themselves must be majority shareholders, has been valued internally at Bayern while still seen as limiting for the Bundesliga as a whole.
“In my opinion,
50+1 is outdated,” Bayern president Herbert Hainer stated in comments captured by @iMiaSanMia. “Every club should be free to decide its own fate. Even if a club wanted to abolish the rule, the club’s members would still have to vote on the proposal, according to the club’s statutes. That means, at the end of the day, the members still decide.”
As honorary president Uli Hoeneß stated previously, Bayern itself would not rely on foreign investment — going so far as to declare that any Bayern president who asked to give up majority ownership and ‘sell shares to Saudi Arabia…would no longer be president one minute later.’
But if the Bundesliga opens up, can Bayern maintain its strong position? It sounds like a challenge the current leadership is eager to embrace for the sake of the league as a whole. When money flows so freely, though, something fans hold more valuable than cold hard cash may be lost.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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