Recently, an investor plan was proposed and voted upon by clubs in the DFL system (namely the clubs that play in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga), one which would massively benefit a lot of teams economically but would result in the German football brand leaning towards commercialisation as a large stake of all German football media would be sold to private investors. The proposal was ultimately rejected, but multiple prominent clubs such as Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich did vote in favour of it.
Bayern Munich’s new CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen was asked how Bayern would be affected by this denial and if further shares of the club would be sold, and had the following to say:
“We have three strategic partners, Audi, Allianz and Adidas, each with 8.33%. In theory, we still have 5% to sell. But that’s not a topic at the moment,” said Dreesen (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
He was then asked if he sees Bayern’s position as precarious in relation to the spending they may have to incur in the transfer market to stay competitive, to which he said,
“We are in a very solid position economically, we feel strong enough for the challenges of the transfer market. Nevertheless, we have to see how and where we can generate sources of revenue for FC Bayern independently of the DFL’s marketing,” Dreesen remarked.
Following on, Dreesen would comment on Bayern’s dominating stature in the German game and how it affects the brand of German football as a whole:
“When FC Bayern is doing well, the Bundesliga is doing well too, because it also benefits from our marketing success. Our sporting success over the last ten, fifteen years contributes to our leadership as a representative of German football… …If we actively represent our points of view in the committees, then we automatically represent the interests of the Bundesliga, for example at the ECA (European Club Association) on the subject of financial fair play. We want to take on this responsibility again – not arrogantly, but confidently,” said Dreesen.
It is clear that Bayern will have to spend bigger than ever this summer if they want to retain their spot amongst Europe’s elite, and while the recent falling through of the DFL investor plan was a major hit, it seems the club is still ready to tackle the market.
