When the rule starts to blur

For many, the unique selling points of the Bundesliga are the high quality of football, the cheap tickets and the undeniably strong fan culture throughout the country. On Monday night, however, a step was taken which brings the very thing that drew me to the league, into serious doubt.

In Germany the fan is king; or at least they are for now thanks to the so-called "50+1 rule." This states that members of a club must retain at least 51 percent ownership, so preventing any single entity taking control. Unlike in other countries, it wouldn't be possible for the likes of Roman Abramovich or Florentino Perez to take full control of a German club. However in recent times, exceptions to the rule and added leniency from the German Football League (DFL) have meant investors are getting their way.

Two top flight teams have long been exempt from the rule, with Volkswagen-owned Wolfsburg - who were founded in 1945 by the car company - and Bayer Leverkusen, who belong to the city's pharmaceuticals giant, Bayer. Both these clubs fall into the exception that a main investor can take a majority share after 20 years of service with a club.

Now with the most recent ilk of FC Ingolstadt 04 and RB Leipzig, who both play in the country's second division, the rule's stature is beginning to fade. The power of money-fuelled companies is spreading to a country that is already rich in tradition and style.

New teams sprouting up

Ingolstadt, who keep a low profile as an investor-owned club in Germany, currently sit on top of the Bundesliga second division and look set for promotion to the top flight. Their owner Peter Jackwerth and the majority of the club's directors are major shareholders in the car company Audi. In 2004 - not 1904 as the 04 in their name might suggest - two struggling clubs came together (MSV 1881 Ingolstadt and ESV Ingolstadt) to form the side.

The commercialization of RB Leipzig however, is even more dramatic. The club was formed in 2009 with the backing of the drinks giant Red Bull. Since then it has achieved three promotions in five seasons, including one completely unbeaten season, to climb from the fifth to the second division.

Four years after its founding, the club had only 9 members, all of which were employees of the drinks company owners. By 2014 the registration fee for membership stood at 100 euros and the annual membership fee was 800 euros. At Bayern Munich, annual membership fees vary between 30 and 60 euros.

Football with soul

German football is known for having a true soul, with fans meaning a lot more than just being the audience for each weekend's entertainment. With Hoffenheim's members deciding to hand voting control to billionaire Dietmar Hopp, the team that plays in the minuscule village of Sinsheim and who have had over €350 million euros invested in them in recent years, are now without a soul.

Unless matters change, the next to join the troubling trend will be Hannover 96. Founded 118 years ago in 1896, they are one of the oldest clubs in Germany and would be the first traditional German club to head in the investor-controlled direction. Owner Martin Kind, who became president in 1997 whilst remaining the owner of the Kind hearing aids business group, is likely to take full control of the club in 2017, after DFL approval.

The likes of Leverkusen, Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim are not seen as founding fathers of football in the country. But, a move from a traditional club of Hannover's standing would be a crushing step towards the loss of this unrivalled member-friendly custom.