'Pep to find EPL dull'

Cape Town - Ex-Liverpool star Dietmar Hamann believes Pep Guardiola will find English football to be a step down from Spain and Germany when he takes over at Manchester City next season.

Guardiola was announced on Monday as Manuel Pellegrini's replacement at City for next season in a deal reportedly worth more than £15m a year.

But Hamann, an ex-Germany international and a former Liverpool, City and Newcastle midfielder, says Guardiola can look forward to dull atmospheres in stadiums and over-inflated wage bills when he arrives in England.

Hamann says salaries in the English game are vastly over-inflated and painted a bleak picture of what awaits the Spaniard after three years in Germany's top flight coaching his current side Bayern Munich and four years with Barcelona.

"After his time in Munich and Barcelona, he will wonder about the atmosphere in some English stadiums and feel like he's in (German fourth division side) Unterhaching," wrote Hamman in his column for Thursday's edition of football magazine Kicker.

"English football faces huge problems.

"I saw Stuttgart play Hamburg last Saturday live and was excited by what I saw.

"When I compare it to a top (Premier League) game like Liverpool against Manchester United in mid-January, it was an affront to see what the spectators there are being offered.

"Therefore the Premier League isn't the best in Europe, quite the opposite.

"The Bundesliga, with its attacking football and technical qualities, has the most attractive product to offer.

"The Premier League is heading straight into a crisis and the increase of television money to 2.3 billion euros from next season will not improve the level in any way.

"If (top players) Wayne Rooney or David Silva each earn 15 million euros, that's okay, but when some players are collecting three million euros a year just because they can run straight, then it's dangerous for the English game.

"And the Bundesliga must be careful they don't use the English as a yardstick, because they are living in a bubble there.

"The English have been delivering the best proof for the last five years that money doesn't buy you success."