#INSERT type:image caption:Bayern Munich are one of three clubs in which Volkswagen has an involvement. END#
The German Football League (DFL) has ruled that third party investors will only be allowed to hold stakes in a maximum of three clubs.
The measures mean such investors are only allowed to own a stake of more than 10 percent at one club.
"To protect the integrity and the credibility of the sporting competition, a restriction for multiple participation has come into effect as of now," the DFL said on its official website.
The DFL said: "No one may be involved directly or indirectly in more than three corporations in the professional leagues. In future, a participation of over 10 percent or more may exist at only at one of those clubs."
German car manufacturer Volkswagen, which already holds more than 10 percent of the stakes at Wolfsburg, holds just under 10 percent at Bayern Munich through a VW subsidiary and has a stake in Bundesliga II leaders Ingolstadt, also through a subsidiary.
That existing situation will not change, but the company -- which had been linked with an investment in Werder Bremen -- will not now be able to become involved with a fourth club.