Borussia Dortmund chief Joachim Watzke has made a bold claim about the competitiveness of the Bundesliga while reserving high praise for Bayern Munich.
Watzke, who's been serving as the club president since 23 November 2025, is also the vice-president of DFB, the governing body of football in Germany.
The 66-year-old recently spoke on the title race in the German top-flight, which has been dominated by the Bavarians in recent years.
While he subtly lauded his side Dortmund for their incredible campaign this season, Watzke also added that without Bayern, it would have been enough to win them the league title.
"I don’t think we’ve collected this many points since 2016 or so, but the only problem is that Bayern always decide whether you can become German champions or not. Because with the points we might get this year, it would’ve been enough for the title in many other years.”"said Watzke
Borussia Dortmund have 61 points in the bag from 27 games in the 2025-26 Bundesliga season and sit nine points behind leaders Bayern in second.
It's their best return at this juncture of the season in years, but Watzke opines that Bayern's force of nature means it's still not enough.
His words subtly imply that Bayern have hegemonized the league so much that no other side can compete with them or challenge them for the league crown.
While many would agree that Bayern are a well-oiled unit that has taken the league by storm under Vincent Kompany's tutelage again this season, Dortmund had their chances too.
There have been multiple occasions this season where the BVB dropped points in games which seemed winnable on paper. From clumsy, late concessions to slow starts, there have been good reasons for the Black and Yellows trailing Bayern by this margin despite seeing a good campaign overall.
However, injuries have been another pressing concern for Niko Kovac's side, with many of his first-team stars succumbing to issues at various points this season which arbitrarily might have affected their form too.
Dortmund also lost both their Bundesliga clashes with Bayern this season, continuing their poor record in the Der Klassiker. The loss in their second meeting was especially damaging as it virtually put an end to all hopes of their title win.
But only recently, Bayer Leverkusen had shown what consistency can do as Die Werkself ended Bayern's decade-long dominance to be crowned German champions in 2024. Dortmund can take a leaf out of their book, perhaps.