Interview
DFL INVESTOR Richard Golz: ‘The entry of investors makes the Bundesliga less exciting ’Fans of 1 FC Köln protest against the entry of an investor in the DFL during the home match against Bayern Munich
Richard Golz once played 453 Bundesliga matches. Today, he advises the management of sports clubs. What does someone like him think of the potential entry of investors into the DFL?
Capital: Mr Golz, the DFL member clubs agreed to the sale of the media shares to an investor by a narrow majority on Monday. Fans have been up in arms about the decision for months. Did football die on Monday?
RICHARD GOLZ: No, we are a long way from that. As is so often the case, the truth lies in the middle. The clubs have an insane need for investment and competitive pressure. So they inevitably have to talk about revenue pots. But there are points that the fans understandably point out.
Where then?
I’m thinking of ticket prices, for example, which are comparatively humane in Germany. An investor naturally has an interest in increasing the clubs’ income. And that would be possible with ticket revenues in view of the high demand and would probably change the atmosphere in the stadium. We have seen this in England, where the good atmosphere in the stadiums is just a myth. That’s why I can understand the concerns of fans who are afraid that German football will become more expensive and turn into a theatre play in terms of atmosphere.
But ticket prices are not affected by the sale of TV rights, are they?
No, but everything is connected to everything else. The bigger and more profitable a club is, the better players it can buy. That makes the league more attractive, which in turn increases media revenue.
Many fan groups have already announced further protests. What can the clubs expect?
The usual: Banners, whistles, experts expressing criticism. But the clubs and the DFL have to face up to this now. There’s no point in being defensive about the issue. That’s why I don’t think much of the fact that the vote was held in secret. In the case of Hannover 96, we are now seeing how this can become a political issue.
It is said that Hanover’s president Martin Kind may have disregarded the club’s own position and voted in favour of the deal. And with one less vote in favour, the deal would not have been completed. It will probably not be clarified, but it is a burden on the whole issue, including 50 plus 1. I think we need as much transparency as possible, and not just now, which is precisely why the vote should not have been organised in secret.
Was there a lasting rift between fans and clubs on Monday?
I don’t think so. It’s still too early for that – the deal hasn’t even been finalised yet. As I said, this process must now be as transparent as possible, also for the fans.
Nevertheless, the question arises as to how bad the clubs must be financially if they get involved in this dispute. Even if you don’t believe it, money is chronically tight in football. There are always clubs that, for example, have their TV revenue paid in advance. At the moment, however, I would say that most clubs are doing better again after corona. So the deal didn’t materialise out of sheer necessity.
The first vote in May did not achieve the necessary majority, but now it has. What was different this time?
The framework conditions were very different back then. Ultimately, there were no negotiating partners for potential investors after the departure of Donata Hopfen in May. Many clubs then felt blindsided because nobody knew exactly how much money was involved. Nobody knew exactly how the money would be distributed, how much influence the investor would have. The entire first draft was not good, both in terms of content and communication. Now they have taken a more cautious approach, even though they should have communicated more with the fans. But I don’t want to deny the new DFL management’s sensitivity. I think Marc Lenz and Steffen Merkel have endeavoured to ensure a good process so far.
In their statement, Lenz and Merkel used the term ‘red lines’ for the potential investor a good dozen times, which also means that there should be no influence on the day-to-day business of the DFL. Why is this message not getting through to the fans?
There is a general fear of investors and the sell-out of football. And, as I said, this is not unfounded. But we are still very different from England, Spain or France. The 50+1 rule is our greatest asset.
In the second attempt within seven months, the 36 professional clubs voted in favour of an external investor joining the German Football League.
Some say that 50+1 has been dead since Monday. Many clubs are clearly acting against the interests of their own fans.
You have to differentiate between the Ultras and the broad spectrum of fans who still want to compete in Europe. But yes, I can’t completely resolve the contradiction.
The question also arises as to why the new deal – eight per cent of the media rights for €1 billion – is supposed to be better than the €3 billion for twelve per cent that the May package envisaged. Calculated down to the percentage point, the deal is significantly worse.
Yes, this question is of course obvious. The only way I can explain it is that the clubs have fewer concerns about inequality. To put it bluntly, you could say that the bigger the package, the more could flow to the big clubs. But the biggest winner is certainly the potential investor.
On the other hand, you could also say that no great leaps are possible. The gap to the English Premier League is unlikely to be closed with €1bn – and interest in matches between Augsburg and Heidenheim will be limited internationally anyway.
Yes, you have to take a close and critical look at the various investment pools. There are obviously numerous clubs for whom internationalisation is of secondary importance – even if I think the basic strategy makes sense. However, pouring money into regionally based Bundesliga clubs does not help anyone. That’s why I think it’s positive that the new package is smaller and more precise.
Why bring private equity on board at all? You could have borrowed the billion from the bank.
Yes, private equity is certainly the most expensive financing option overall. However, they wanted the network and the resulting synergy effects, which is also understandable.
But an investor wants influence, warn many fans. The DFL brushes aside the criticism. Are the fans being taken for fools by the DFL?
No. The DFL will have already given it some thought. For me, communication is the problem: just talking about red lines is too easy. There should have been a clear argument as to why this particular form of financing was chosen. That didn’t happen sufficiently.
Have you ever experienced this in your career, for example from sponsors?
Not really. TV Spielfilm wanted to get off our chest at HSV because we lost a few games in a row and there was a bit of chaos. They actually did that for a while. But otherwise it was always kept away from us players.
Source reference: The original work can be found here: https://www.capital.de/wirtschaft-politik/richard-golz—investoreneinstieg-macht-bundesliga-weniger-spannend–34287468.html
