Niko Kovac Claims Spending by English Clubs Gives Them 'Advantage' Over European Counterparts

Bayern Munich manager Niko Kovac has claimed that spending by English clubs gives them an 'advantage' over German teams, in response to all three Bundesliga clubs crashing out of the Champions League at the round of 16 phase.

Bayern, Schalke and Borussia Dortmund were all thwarted by English opposition, meaning no side will represent Germany in a Champions League quarter-final for the first time since 2006 - whilst four Premier League sides have reached the last eight for the first time in a decade.

Kovac believes that the financial firepower of English clubs has given them a sizeable advantage over their German counterparts, with players more willing to ply their trade in the Premier League.

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"Money doesn't always win, but Jurgen Klopp spent €500 million in the last four years," Kovac said, as quoted by Goal.

"Even we as the Bundesliga forerunners did not do that. It's just an advantage [for them]. For the top stars, it's just more appealing to go to the Premier League than to Bundesliga."

The Croatian manager went on to cite other ways in which Bayern can compete for European titles in the future, stating: "If we want to make up for this, we must identify young and talented players early on.

"The basic question is: Do we want to play in that game or not and then [we must] calculate on other teams running away from us."

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The Bundesliga has been at the forefront of youth development recently, with top English prospects such as Jadon Sancho and Reiss Nelson shining in the German top flight. 

Kovac has already started his own recruitment of young stars, with French World Cup winner Benjamin Pavard set to join at the end of the season from Stuttgart.