Investors can also accelerate the economic growth of a club with initial cash injections. But it’s not a necessity either.

But I think that over the next few years, the Bundesliga will probably make things easier for investors, but most probably with something more severe than EPL’s laughable “fit and proper person test”.

I think when done the right way, investing is a good thing because football is (unfortunately) a business. And as you said Jan, it’s especially a good option for a small club that that has a long term plan. It did wonders for Lyon, which was a backwater second division club only 20 years ago, but now it’s the 12th richest club in Europe. And yet Lyon have still managed to hang onto their social responsibilities and maintain their local identity. Though most French clubs are still actually “family run,” clubs like Toulouse and Le Mans are taking the Lyon approach, which is gradually inviting investors into the fold.

The key is creating laws to prevent EPL like situations. Again, I’m only speaking from a French perspective, but one way the LFP regulates investors is by rigorously screening every buyer. Marseille’s owner tried to sell the club last year but the LFP blocked it, saying that the buyer didn’t meet their standards. The LFP also doesn’t allow a club to end the year running in the red, so no French clubs have massive debts (or they get relegated). Clubs like MU, Inter, and Chelsea wouldn’t be able to play in the French topflight (now there’s a thought!).

I might be in the minority, but I think greater cash flow into the Bundesliga could make the league more competitive and challenge the hegemony of the big three. It would also allow the smaller clubs to hang onto their talent and not have it sucked up by Bayern.

Maybe some egos play part in this as well, who fear losing control/power/influence.

A lot of tradition and history plays a part. Clubs have always been, as mentioned, non-profit institutions, who don’t just do football as a business but carry a lot of social responsibility for their city/region. A piece of football culture that is dear to many people, who fear investors would kill this.

You don’t necessarily need investors to run an economically successful club either.

BUT: investors can definitely help accelerate things. There are some potentially great clubs with modern 50000 capacity stadiums in the third and fourth division (Düsseldorf and Leipzig). Those would be ideal candidates for a long term project. A club like Berlin could also speed up it’s economic consolidation with the help of an investor. It can obviously be a very positive thing for the Bundesliga – creating a greater depth of strong teams.