As manager, Michael Meier was one of the main decision-makers at Borussia Dortmund for many years. Even during his time at BVB from 1989 to 2005, the club was chasing FC Bayern as the German industry leader. Even 17 years after his end in Dortmund, he still sees the same discrepancy between the two clubs.
The financial clout between the two clubs was so different right up to the end that the record champions from Munich have always remained number one in German football.
“It has to do with money when you can keep players like Neuer, Kimmich, Müller and Lewandowski for years in order to form an axis with them and then introduce young players,” said the former football manager in an interview with “Sportradio Deutschland” .
Binding top performers at a world-class level to their own club and creating a unique identity in this way is something only Bayern Munich is able to do in Germany.
Ex-BVB manager Meier: What’s left of Haaland?”
Meier gave a current example to illustrate the difference: “What is left of Haaland in terms of mental contribution to this team spirit? He was an excellent player at BVB, but he wasn’t able to develop here at all. And nothing could be done here either passed on to DNA, which is what Borussia Dortmund has always been,” said the 72-year-old.
The financial differences between FC Bayern and the other competitors in the Bundesliga are so “enormously different that the Bayern model is difficult to beat,” added Meier.
During his tenure at Borussia Dortmund, the club was three times German champion and 1997 Champions League winner. However, the Westphalian was still primarily responsible for BVB when it almost had to file for bankruptcy in 2004.