"This season has been one of the best in sporting terms for German football but economically we are no longer capable of fighting," Rummenigge told the business daily Handelsblatt.

Germany finished third at the 2006 World Cup, and Bayern Munich have reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League and Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen the same stage in the UEFA Cup.

"In the past we were the most powerful championship in this domain, but for the past 10 years we've been resting on our laurels, notably in terms of the marketing of our championship," said Rummenigge.

"When I see that television rights in other countries are negotiated for 20 million euros and that the Premiership got 105 million euros from Hong Kong, we will not catch England."

Club president Franz Beckenbauer added: "Bayern doesn't have the money to win the Champions League, which doesn't stop them from having a chance of making a name for themselves."