Bundesliga should be proud not fearful

The transfer of Bastian Schweinsteiger was the tipping point. The Bundesliga can't take it anymore. Along with headline maker Schweini, record-breaking Roberto (Firmino), fox-in-the-box Shinji Okazaki and joker Joselu will also be Premier League players next season. The Bundesliga feels vulnerable. In truth, it should feel proud. They have created something the rest of the world wants.

If other teams from other leagues buy the league's best players at the peak of their careers, then the league should be proud. The price (the real one that is) for that pride is a sustainable, affordable and fan-favoring league, rather than extortionate entertainment.

The Bundesliga remains one of the best, if not the best, league to grow and learn as a young player. Not only is tactical understanding developed, but young players actually get the chance to put it into practice as well. Aside from the record-champions and perhaps Wolfsburg, clubs favor circulating existing talent or promoting/securing youngsters. Newly-promoted sides come and go, never weighed down by excessive parachute payments. Fans can regularly afford tickets that include matchday travel, they are in regular contact with the club and are acknowledged by the players and coaches after every game. There is a harmony at play here.

Such synchronization is elusive in the Premier League. England's top flight may get global recognition, audiences from tiny bars in Hanoi, and seven languages for their Fantasy Football game, but it sold its soul to get it. The mesmerizing atmospheres and matchday experiences that once made England famous are what Germany now prides itself on. International success remains elusive for England as they continue to suffer, ironically, from the weight of having won once. Germany dealt with the pressure of winning three, changed domestic focus and delivered a fourth 14 years after the turmoil.

Money for nothing?

The greatest misconception amidst all this fear is that this financial clout grants the Premier League a sporting advantage. Of course players want to play in the Premier League, but less because the quality is superior and more because the money matters. Who wouldn't want to do their job and get paid four, five times as much as they would anywhere else?

The Bundesliga's top 10 teams are constantly improving. The likes of Werder Bremen, Hoffenheim and even surprise package Augsburg are just as talented as their Premier League equivalent - not to mention the quality of the coaches (two of which are German). None of them have staggering wage budgets and while Hoffenheim spoil the example somewhat by being supported by millionaire Dietmar Hopp, the club's transfer policy and youth academy shows their stance when it comes to replacing record-breaking departures.

The Bundesliga has perhaps lost sight of what it has, maybe even what it has become. It has never really been a go-to league, but now it is a come-from environment, and everyone wants a piece. It is a form of recognition that comes without a heavy price and merits enough TV money to keep an honest league happy.

Eventually, the financial bubble will burst, and when it does the Bundesliga must make sure they are still treading the same path - the one of sustainability, talent production and fan focus. It was this approach that produced the all-German Champions League final in Wembley, perhaps the most exciting final of the last five years. It was this approach that produced the World Cup success in 2014, which dramatically raised attention on German football and the blueprint behind their success. To try and use that to compete with the biggest domestic league in the world would be more than a waste. It would be the loss of football culture, leaving behind an eerie hush similar to the one that can often be heard in English stadiums.