German FA, Bayern want salary cap for ‘credible’ football

The restricting of wages, which are currently “partly from another world,” can only be achieved with UEFA’s help, says Fritz Keller.

Bayern Munich and FC Union Berlin engaged in a game of Bundesliga football on May 17. The Bundesliga became the world’s first major football league to resume after a two-month suspension because of the coronavirus pandemic.

German FA president Fritz Keller and Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge want to propose a salary cap to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, it was revealed on Tuesday.

“There are absurd salaries and transfer fees that are no longer credible,” Keller, boss of the German Football Association (DFB), told reporters. “We have to talk about salary caps. I am glad that I agree with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on this point. Therefore we will write a letter to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.”

Rummenigge touted the idea at the weekend in an interview with broadcaster Sky . “[Former UEFA president] Michel Platini had the idea years ago to introduce a salary cap in Europe based on the American model,” Rummenigge said.

While the Frenchman allegedly had the support “of all the big clubs in Europe. However, we were told from the outset that this could not be brought into line with competition laws,” Rummenigge added.

Now Keller wants to write a combined letter to persuade Ceferin. The restricting of wages, which are currently “partly from another world,” can only be achieved with UEFA’s help, he added. “The end result must be a regulation that conforms to European law and also applies to Britain,” Keller said, referring to England’s big spending Premier League clubs.

Financial Fair Play

The DFB boss also wants a reform of the Financial Fair Play rules. “We must bring professional football closer to the people again,” said Keller.

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“The current crisis (coronavirus pandemic) has brought to light problems in football that were previously overshadowed by ever new [transfer] records.”

News that Keller and Rummenigge are joining forces means their recent spat has been resolved. “I spoke to him on Tuesday morning and the matter has been resolved,” said Keller.

On Sunday, Rummenigge attacked Keller because he was “irritated by his populist choice of words.”

In an interview with magazine Spiegel , Keller had complained about the “bigotry” of nouveau riche football millionaires, which Rummenigge felt was aimed at Bayern.