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Hamburg shows limits of German model

Hamburg were the longest-serving members of Germany's top flight, having been in the Bundesliga since its creation in 1963. The equivalent in the Premier League would be Everton getting relegated.

The club's revenues are well over £100m per season, placing them in the middle of the Bundesliga rankings which is where they are in terms of net spend and wage bill. This is in spite of a lack of revenue from European football.

Hamburg's attendance remains in the European top 20 (their stadium has a 57,000 capacity). Hamburg is the second largest city in the EU's largest economy.

Club rules go beyond the 'fifty plus one' rule which stops a single investor owning a majority of a club. Shipping magnate Klaus-Michael Kuhne is limited to a 24.9 per cent stake. He has pumped in over £50m into the club in terms of direct investment and low interest loans, but doesn't have much say.

Decisions at board level involve a large group of people, most of them fan appointed. The result is a process that is very democratic, but also slow, unwieldy and leaky which means that information often comes out that sabotages deals. The German model has its drawbacks.

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