Domestic football leagues have lost their appeal because they are dominated by the same teams like Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain, former German Football Federation (DFB) director Oliver Bierhoff has said.
"The Champions League is an outstanding competition, but many national leagues have become boring, to put it simply," Bierhoff told the German edition of Sports Illustrated magazine.
He said that clubs like PSG, Bayern, Real Madrid and Barcelona have pulled away from most of their rivals and that even in England the title race often revolves around just a few teams.
Bayern have won every Bundesliga title between 2013 and 2026 with just one exception when Bayer Leverkusen triumphed in 2024. PSG have won 12 of the 14 Ligue 1 titles in the same period. In Spain, the last champion other than Real, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid were Valencia in 2004.
Bierhoff said that certain elements from US sports could do the footballers good, such as the draft system and a salary cap.
"In German football we like to say that we show a great deal of solidarity. Yet the gap is widening all the time," Bierhoff said.
Former Germany striker Bierhoff worked for the DFB between 2004 and 2022, a period that included the 2014 World Cup title. He is now an adviser for American football team the New England Patriots where he is confronted with the American way to running sports.
"The Americans don't necessarily do everything better, but they just get on with it. They have the courage to tackle problems and make decisions," Bierhoff said.