RB Leipzig boss Jesse Marsch says that Bayern Munich's financial advantage over the majority of their Bundesliga rivals leaves few of them with a fair shot against them, highlighting minnows Arminia Bielefeld to illustrate his point.
The Bavarian giants were held to a shock 3-3 draw by the North Rhine-Westphalia outfit last season, in spite of the vast gulf in resources between the pair.
Now, speaking after his side were thrashed 4-1 in their attempts to gain ground upon the reigning champions, Marsch has admitted that he does not understand how such financial disparity benefits the competition long-term.
What has been said?
"I have read that Bayern Munich's squad budget is 30 times as high as that of Arminia," the 47-year-old told Kicker. "There is no difference like that in the Premier League, in La Liga, in any league.
"I think only the Indian Premier League, in cricket, has a bigger discrepancy between the richest and poorest clubs.
"As an American, I can't understand how Bielefeld can have a fair chance against Bayern in the long term."
What does Marsch's words suggest?
Having cut his teeth in MLS before his move to the Bundesliga, Marsch has left a sporting hierarchy vastly different to the one occupied by football in Germany.
American sports, such as the NFL, frequently attempt to balance the competition through initiatives such as the draft, which allows the last-place team the first pick of the best new players for the subsequent season.
The lack of promotion and relegation to that franchise model however, it could be argued, robs some of the romance of the European game, where upsets can often make seismic waves.
Only last year, Bayern were stunned by second-division Holstein Kiel in the second round of the DFB-Pokal Cup, beaten 6-5 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
The bigger picture
Marsch will now turn his attention to continental football however, as Leipzig prepare to face another one of European football's rich elite in the Champions League.
The Bundesliga outfit travel to Premier League title holders Manchester City on Wednesday, looking to spring a major surprise against last season's beaten finalists.
Further tests against another high-spending club, Paris Saint-Germain, await, as well as Club Brugge, leaving Marsch's men in a fight to make it to the last-16 before a ball is even kicked.