The transfer window is closed, football fans everywhere are now asking themselves: has my club strengthened? How attractive is my league?
When it comes to investing in new stars, the Bundesliga ranks third in Europe behind the English Premier League and the Italian Serie A, with expenses totaling 416.37 million euros. Source: transfermarkt.de).
Noticeable: The Spaniards, otherwise very active in transfers, are only fifth this time with 293 million euros, still behind the French League 1.
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Did the near collapse of the big club Barcelona (1.35 billion debt) lead to a rethink? Or is it just because the change from super star Mbappé to Real Madrid did not come about with a transfer fee of more than 200 million?
Remarkable: If you compare income and expenses on the transfer market, only the Bundesliga has a positive balance of the “Big Five”. The expenses of 416.37 million are compared to income of 454.30 million, which means an increase of 37.93 million euros. This is called good business and it is positive. The other four leagues, on the other hand, are in the red, the English a whopping 706.94 million.
“We are the island of the thrifty”, was the thesis of my colleague Walter M. Straten in the TV show “The Situation of the League” on BILD Live (every Sunday at 9 am). I replied: “But you could also say: The island of the poor and the powerless.”
Because the 50 + 1 rule makes it impossible for the clubs to take over investors, we are falling behind more and more financially, especially compared to the English. And run the risk of only being able to compete internationally to a limited extent.
At the same time, the overwhelming supremacy of FC Bayern is cemented more and more in the national transfers, especially since the record champions have once again confirmed the prejudice that if necessary, simply buy the best people away from the toughest competitors.
That was already the case with Leverkusen at the turn of the century, when Robert Kovac, Ze Roberto, Ballack and Lucio were brought to Munich. Then Werder (Ismael, Klose, Borowski), finally BVB (Götze, Lewandowski, Hummels).
And now it’s RB Leipzig’s turn: The transfers from Upamecano (42.5 million transfer), coach Nagelsmann (up to 25 million) and Sabitzer (15 million) weaken the runner-up and strengthen the permanent champions. The result: Nine titles in a row, as Bayern have done, are currently not in any of the other major leagues.
Boredom in the championship match, an impending loss of competitiveness in European competitions – the Bundesliga is in a dangerous bind. The once “strongest league in the world” threatens to lose more and more of its attractiveness.
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