The DFL is persisting with its investor plan, albeit scaled down

The organising body of the top professional football leagues in Germany, the DFL, proposed a plan in the early months of 2023 to increase the financial power of clubs in Germany through private investments. However this plan was rejected by the clubs of Germany, fearing the loss of fan identity and possibility of diluting the brand of German football.

However, Bild (as captured on Twitter by @iMiaSanMia) reports that the DFL has not completely scrapped the idea, but rather continued talks with the clubs in question with a new plan in mind.

The original plan involved the creation of a new company that held the international media rights of the DFL’s top two leagues, and then the selling of a minority stake in that company to private investors to raise funds for all teams in these leagues. However, the previous plan involved selling a 12.5% (or one-eighth) stake in this company for a revenue in the region of €2 billion, which has now been scaled down. The DFL is now looking to sell a 7% stake (roughly one-fourteenth) of the media company, named DFL MediaCo GmbH & Co. KGaA, and raise somewhere between €750 million and €1 billion for it. The scaled down investment would significantly reduce the inflow of cash from the plan but may be a plan German clubs are more comfortable with. Bild does not yet have a report on how the clubs have reacted.