Oliver Kahn would open up the Bundesliga in the struggle for more attractiveness and competition for investors.
“One should continue to think about the meaning of the 50+1 rule,” demanded the CEO of the German record champions Bayern Munich in the magazine 11Freunde. One can “assume that our competition could become stronger when the 50+1 rule falls”.
The provision has “now become an ideology,” said Kahn: “Anyone who questions the concept or at least encourages mind games is automatically the bad guy.” But he himself was “not there to find new friends, but to keep FC Bayern in the absolute top – and for that we all need a top-class league”.
After ten years of Munich dominance, this is only partially the case, the international reputation and thus the marketability of the league suffers. “We don’t want to hear from England that we in Germany are a kind of ‘Farmers League'”, a training league, said Kahn.
However, he believes it distorts competition “when whole countries have the opportunity to become investors without regulation” – a tip against international competitors such as Manchester City or Paris St. Germain. FC Bayern itself wants to “remain independent anyway, that’s our basis, our culture,” said Kahn.
As an instrument for equal opportunities in Europe, he relies on the introduction of the Financial Sustainability Regulations, i.e. the sustainability regulations by the European Football Union (UEFA). “By 2024/25 at the latest, we will take a close look to ensure that it is used.”
