I see, that’s interesting. Thanks for the cultural context, makes sense.

I am not German so maybe I am missing something but I can’t really see the equivalence between Wolfsburg and Leverkusen against Hoffenheim and Leipzig. The former were initiated as clubs for the workers of the companies about 100 years ago, the latter two were bought by SAP and RB, respectively. I don’t think it makes sense to see Wolfsburg and Leverkusen in the same light given that their history is deeply intertwined with the corporations that own them, the people of those corporations and the cities they are in.

It’s absolutely normal to me that Wolfsburg and Bayer are owned by their respective Groups, even with the German rule of ownership.

Edit: obviously this ultra message from OP is horrendous and i’m not defending it all btw

Do we know why he never applied to be reinstated? I would imagine he just didn’t want to play football but apparently he went to the XFL and CFL for a bit