Bayern Munich are falling behind their Champions League rivals and would welcome the abolition of Germany's '50+1' rules on club ownership, according to Uli Hoeness.
Honorary president Hoeness made the declaration on Thursday, in the hope the Deutsche Fußball Liga could relax its tight regulations.
The rule is designed to ensure club members hold 50 per cent of shares, plus one share, to stay in majority control.
There are exceptions, with Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg having been bankrolled by pharmaceutical giants Bayer and vehicle manufacturer Volkswagen, while Red Bull-owned RB Leipzig found a loophole to acquire the club in 2009, but the 50+1 guideline is otherwise strictly enforced.
Despite regularly outspending their domestic rivals, Bayern might cast an envious eye at clubs from other countries with their wealthy owners.
And while the Bundesliga champions have many routes to bringing in funds, Hoeness feels something needs to change.
The perception is that investors will only come in with game-changing money if they can take control of decisions, which the present rules prevent.
"We would be totally in favour of the 50+1 rule falling because we are falling behind internationally," said Hoeness. "We also have to give the smaller clubs opportunities to be competitive. I am in favour of each club making their own decisions."
The 71-year-old – a former player, general manager and president of Bayern – was speaking at an event staged by Hannover's Neue Presse.
Bayern won 1-0 at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday in the last-16 stage of the Champions League, snatching the first-leg advantage against the Qatari-owned French giants. It was a repeat scoreline from their meeting with PSG in the 2019-20 final.
PSG's heavy investment means they can name an all-star front three of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, when all are fit.
There is also reportedly strong Qatari interest in taking a major stake in Manchester United, while Newcastle United have big-spending Saudi owners and could soon be major players in the Champions League.
In contrast, Bayern have recently cast doubt on whether they will have sufficient funds to turn Joao Cancelo's loan from Manchester City into a permanent deal at the end of the season.
Hoeness pinpointed the Parisians as an example of a team with spending power that Bayern cannot match.
While he may want Bayern to be on more of a level playing field, it was a thrill this week for the German giants to take PSG's scalp.
"For comparison: Paris have €750million in personnel costs," Hoeness claimed. "But I have to say, I'm excited about winning against them. The game proved that money doesn't always score goals."
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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