"I can’t justify putting my money into a club who doesn’t appreciate the fans."
Ryan Williams at VfL Bochum(Image: Ryan Williams© SWNS)
A Manchester United fan who ditched the club after becoming "fed up" forked out £500 for a season ticket for a club in Germany - and travels 500 miles every fortnight to watch them.
Ryan Williams, 36, decided to sack off his life-long team to support Bochum, based in Germany, last year after feeling like the club no longer "appreciates the fans".
He now spends £130 for a return flight making the 480 mile journey every other week to watch his new club that play in the Bundesliga 2.
Ryan says he made the switch after becoming "disconnected" with the Premier League's spending.
The driving instructor and content creator from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, said: "This little love story has blossomed, and I fully support this club.
"They were relegated from the Bundesliga to the Bundesliga 2 last season. I've found that the Germans love the fact that their league can be appreciated.
"A lot of what Germany is the fan culture. They have the fan owned club model with the 50+1 rule, and although they've lost a lot of players to the Prem, a lot of Bundesliga fans feel sorry for us that we've lost our clubs to billionaires.
"There's the narrative from the commercial side of things that the Prem is the best league in the world, but I do think I represent a growing number of men and women that feel that disconnect is growing year on year with our clubs."
Ryan Williams at Manchester United(Image: Ryan Williams© SWNS)
Unlike the UK, German clubs have to abide by the 50+1 ownership rule - which ensures that 51% of the club remains under the overall control of club members and protects the club from unwanted external influence.
After travelling the country for the Euros last summer, Ryan quickly fell in love with German football and now travels every other week to western Germany to watch Bochum play.
He has an 'away season ticket' which set him back £500, but a home season ticket for the stand behind the goal costs half of that.
He doesn't have to pay for hotels or food when there - instead he's welcomed into people's homes to stay for free after sharing his story on social media - and he's even got a tattoo of Bochum's stadium, The Ruhrstadion, tattooed on his arm.
The change of heart comes after Ryan first began supporting Man United in the 90s when he was just five-years-old.
He said: "Naturally, as a United fan that grew up in the 90s my fandom was built on glory. I would have previously agreed that you can't switch clubs.
"On paper it doesn't look great, but I see it as I made a decision as a five-year-old to support fandom and glory.
"As you grow up you realise you live three hours from Old Trafford and once the big players go, it's a superficial fandom.
"It never affected my day if United lost. The suffering doesn’t come from the form of the team over the past 10 years though… I know that’ll be the narrative for some.
"It would be no different if we were still winning the Premier League. In a similar way people watch FC United of Manchester or their local non-league side - I found my calling in Bochum.
"I know Man United have been awful and it had nothing to do with the way they played but the feeling I got from the community isn't what it once was."
But after spending time in Germany, Ryan feels like he has found "his club".
He said: "I went to Germany a few months before the Euros as well to make content on the stadiums.
"I networked and I saw games, and it gave me that feeling of how my parents described watching football pre-Premier-League back in the day.
"Standing on terraces, drinking a beer, all the simple things. I know a lot of that is gone due to hooliganism in the UK.
"There are other options out there, but what I like about Germany is you have that big game feeling whilst having that non-league feeling we have here.
"Germany is our lower league scene on steroids. With Bochum it's a completely different feeling to United.
"I could never pick up another English club, but Bochum have long surpassed United and are very much my club now."
Ryan has documented some of his trips to Germany on social media, meaning he rarely has to fork out for anything when he's there.
He said: "Tourists/foreign fans have a negative stigma at football in the UK and they are often blamed for the downfall of the Premier League whereas in Germany that's not the case.
"Little things like the price of beer is so much cheaper and there's just a whole nice feeling.
"You can drink on the streets in Germany unlike in England, so many fans will grab bottles and cans for less than €2 each and drink them outside the stadium.
"Inside the ground it’s more like £4 a pint, but the beer is brewed differently and tastes so much better.
"They also support their local breweries for example in Bochum they drink 'Fiege'.
"I never have to buy a beer as they always buy for me - I come out of games wrecked as it's too hard to say no!
"When I get there, I don't pay for hotels or anything. I stay with fans, and they refuse to take any money off me.
"The passion from the people for the club is infectious."