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Munich president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge stated that the players of a club that has been eliminated from the Champions League and could finish the season without any victories will have their salaries reduced.
"Salaries should be reduced by 15 to 20 percent," Rummenigge told a German sports weekly.
This season has been very unsuccessful for the multiple German champions: in the Bundesliga, Bayern is 11 points behind the leaders with nine games remaining, and they were eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16 with an aggregate score of 2-1.
After the collapse of the German media giant "Kirch" consortium, German clubs faced financial difficulties due to a significant decrease in funding received for television broadcasts.
Another German club, Borussia Dortmund, has already reduced its players' salaries by a fifth due to these reasons.
"Contracts expiring will not be renewed under the old rules," continued the Bayern president, "We don't intend to make any more mistakes."
Rummenigge also said that no decision has been made regarding coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, who recently stated that he wants to stay at the club until the end of his contract in 2005: "Second place in the Bundesliga definitely does not guarantee him a place in the club, but also third place does not mean he will be fired."
At the moment, Bayern's only remaining goal is to secure second place in the championship, guaranteeing a spot in next year's Champions League.
