Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland duel for the last time in Germany. In the summer, the Bundesliga continues to lose its attractiveness – an alarm signal for the makers.
Robert Lewandowski puts on his poker face and sternly warns the challenger: “No foolishness!” But Erling Haaland, his eyes covered by huge sunglasses, stays cool. “I’m not getting out,” he whispers. The Norwegian holds two aces – like the Pole. Both go “all in”.
With the poker game of the striker stars, the Bundesliga is advertising the classic between Lewandowski’s FC Bayern and Haaland’s Borussia Dortmund on Saturday (6:30 p.m. / Sky) – in English, of course: the duel of world footballers against Sturmjuwel draws millions of fans around the world in front of the screens, but for the last time the Bundesliga. And that’s a problem for the House of Lords.
Lewandowski and Haaland are “two absolute world stars who outshine everyone else,” BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke recently told Sport Bild, even German fan favorites like Munich’s Manuel Neuer or Thomas Müller are overshadowed by the exceptional attackers. These are “the trendiest abroad,” says Watzke.
And wherever they go, the fans follow them – completely independent of club loyalties. “One can find that sad,” said the traditionalist Watzke, “but it is a social development.” However, one that worries the head of the supervisory board of the German Football League (DFL) and with him the industry.
“The lack of stars is a great danger for the Bundesliga,” said Watzke, emphasizing: “We have to be careful and try to keep many of the stars we still have.” But that, he knows, is “difficult in view of the great financial pressure from England”.
BVB is once again feeling this first hand. After Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Jadon Sancho in Haaland in the summer, Borussia is likely to lose another top star to the billionaire league. Champion Manchester City is the most likely target for the 21-year-old, who is said to be the top earner there with an alleged 600,000 euros per week.
Including the fixed transfer fee (75 million) and earnest money, the Haaland deal amounts to a total volume of 250 to 300 million euros – no wonder that the interested Bavarians had to wave it off. The package is “very far from what we imagine,” said CEO Oliver Kahn in the Sport1 double pass.
Enormous attention for the duel of the top strikers
Worse still, the German record champions are threatened with the loss of Torgarant Lewandowski, who flirts with FC Barcelona all the time. Even Kahn now had to publicly admit for the first time that the 33-year-old was “thinking about the future” – that is, thinking of saying goodbye.
The Bundesliga has lost its attractiveness anyway because of Munich’s dominance and the relegation of various traditional clubs. The problem would be exacerbated by the departure of the two top strikers and top international brands, whose duel “Sky” shows via “Star Cam” on its own channel (“Bundesliga 4”).
So far, Lewandowski and Haaland have “gambled” against each other six times in the Bundesliga and Supercup – each time Bayern had the better hand. Haaland scored five, Lewandowski even eight goals. How to replace this class?
Watzke has an idea. If Haaland leaves BVB as expected, “we will handle it the way we have always done it,” he said: “We will find someone new again.”