The Biggest Fallen Giants in German Football

There is nothing like German football, from the dedicated fans vehemently protesting any attempt to corporatize their teams or league to their stadiums laden with beer and bratwurst that are home to fans of all ages, as football is often seen as an affordable family outing.

One of the most interesting particularities of the Bundesliga nowadays is how many truly gigantic clubs are languishing in the lower tiers, with many of them experiencing hardships like this in recent times. The German obsession with keeping their football clubs fan-owned is a double-edged sword, on the one hand, it means that you effectively own a club that reflects your identity as a fan and not the whims of a billionaire or the investment opportunity of a hedge fund, on the other hand, it means that all of these clubs except Bayern operate without a safety net.

When a club like Chelsea underperforms so drastically that they don’t even reach the European spots at the end of the season, Todd Boehly can coolly drop some hundreds of millions in the club’s transfer budget, whereas one too many seasons like that for a German club will see it sell its best players to keep things running and sign players of lesser value, as footballers don’t usually tend to sign for relegation-threatened sides out of the goodness of their heart.

Inter's financial issues have forced them into selling key players like Achraf Hakimi, Romelu Lukaku, and André Onana, but they haven't stopped them from returning to the pinnacle of Italian football.@HE_Ftbl on how Inter returned to the promised land:https://t.co/2g4LtLT0Aspic.twitter.com/WzFTrMBCaQ— Breaking The Lines (@BTLvid) April 1, 2024