The former Manchester City striker thinks the English top flight has changed immensely since his playing days, largely as a result of a more commercially-driven culture, which he finds “sad”.

He told World Soccer magazine: “I think the Premier League now is not the league I knew as a player.

“Back then, everyone more or less could afford to buy a ticket, normal families, kids, working people.

“The people from the local communities who grew up supporting their local team could just go down to their home grounds and follow the games regularly.

“In these times, due to the cost of tickets, it is not possible anymore and that does make me a bit sad.

“I am very much driven as a coach by my interactions with the fans and by the atmosphere in the stadium.

“These days in England it can often be very flat; that’s the price paid for a more corporate atmosphere, more VIP places and business suites and directors’ boxes and so on.

“When you compare the atmosphere to German stadiums, there is a really big difference.

“German stadiums are supporter-powered, the chants, the choreographies, the sheer power of the experience, it’s absolutely overwhelming.”

Uwe thinks the vast sums of money in the Premier League have made it harder for other European clubs to compete for top players.

He said: “The Premier League started very early, finding markets around the world where they could sell the television rights.

"And they promoted the product so much, generating so much revenue, that they have been able to afford the best coaches and the best players in the world; every player wants to play in the Premier League.

“The English top tier is, at the moment, by far the most competitive quality-wise.

“That makes it harder for countries like Germany, even though our football has a long history and is competitive.

“But when it comes to income, we cannot compete, which is hard.”