Bayern and Schalke at odds over potential Bundesliga playoffs

Ahead of their Bundesliga clash on Saturday, Bayern Munich and newly promoted Schalke are at odds over a potential introduction of championship playoffs in the top tier.

While Schalke's supervisory board chairman, Axel Hefer, spoke in favour of the idea ahead, Bayern president Herbert Hainer rejected the plan in a joint interview conducted by the Bild newspaper on Friday.

"I believe that Bayern, too, should have a strong interest in thinking about the format of the league," Hefer.

"So that they can play in the Champions League every year, but at the same time, there's a little more excitement in the domestic league."

The Munich team has won the league title every season since 2013, interrupted only by Bayer Leverkusen's triumph in 2024.

Schalke, meanwhile, have been waiting for the title since 1958 - before the creation of the Bundesliga and when there was still championship playoffs.

"If I were in your situation, I wouldn't think it's worth striving for the title every year, excitement comes from achieving something that isn't yet certain," Hefer argued.

Hainer replied that, when it comes to the playoffs, they have "fundamentally different views."

"That's where we disagree: I want to win the championship every year!" he said.

The Bayern president isn't a fan of knock-out matches following a league phase.

"Whoever is in first place after 34 matchdays should be crowned German champion," he stressed.

As an argument against playoffs, he mentioned Bayern's basketball team's performance last season: "We were in first place by a wide margin after the regular season, but then lost the final play-off game against Alba Berlin because our team was simply exhausted after 83 games."

The current Bundesliga format already includes a relegation/promotion playoff. The 16th-placed in the top tier face the third-placed in the second division. Critics view this format as unfair and argue that the second division side should be directly promoted.

There's currently no concrete discussions over the introduction of a championship playoff.