Dreesen appeals: Solidarity is not a one-way street
FC Bayern Munich CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen has made an urgent appeal to the other clubs in the Bundesliga. "The principle of solidarity applies - for everyone! Everyone must be prepared to break new ground, because this is the only way the Bundesliga can remain internationally competitive," said Dreesen on Sunday at the annual general meeting of the record German soccer champions. Solidarity should "not be a one-way street".
"We must all work hard to significantly increase revenue from international marketing. The summer tours are just a small component of this, but I call on all clubs to make themselves more visible. This summer break, only BVB and FC Bayern Munich were on the road - that's definitely not enough," explained the 56-year-old.
Bayern were on the road in Asia this summer, BVB in the USA. Dreesen pointed to the clubs from the Premier League. Led by Liverpool and Manchester City, several teams have been on the road. The English top league earns ten times as much as the Bundesliga through foreign marketing. FC Bayern also suffers from this imbalance, said Dreesen. "What's more, we are competing on the transfer market with clubs that feel like their money comes out of the socket." The club does not want to fall behind internationally.
Dreesen took over from Oliver Kahn at the end of May. He was CFO of FC Bayern for many years. There are major challenges ahead, including of an economic nature, said Dreesen. "FC Bayern is not an island."
Dreesen was happy to emphasize a "unique selling point" of FC Bayern. It is the only one of the top clubs in Europe that is not owned by a state, a company or a super-rich person and is not crushed by millions or even billions in debt. "We are very, very proud of that. And we want it to stay that way in the future," he said. Every child in the world should know FC Bayern.
"During the discussion at the Annual General Meeting, Dreesen suggested that all Bundesliga clubs should enhance their international visibility to increase revenue from marketing, as clubs like Liverpool and Manchester City from the Premier League have already done. This would help reduce the significant gap between the Bundesliga and the English league in foreign earnings, which currently disadvantages FC Bayern Munich."
"In light of the need for solidarity and to maintain the Bundesliga's international competitiveness, Dreesen encouraged all Bundesliga clubs to follow FC Bayern and BVB's example of participating in summer tours, emphasizing that collaboration is key to success in the global soccer market."
Source: www.dpa.com
