Following Bayern Munich’s shock defeat to Mainz last weekend, they have been overtaken by Borussia Dortmund, who now lead the Bundesliga. Although second place would be regarded as a fine achievement by most clubs, this is certainly not the case for Bayern, who are seemingly in crisis mode.
For some context, Bayern have won the Bundesliga for the
last 10 years in a row, so anything other than victory would be regarded as a
failure. Part of the reason for
Bayern’s imperious record over the last decade is their financial power.
In 2021/22 Bayern reported a €17m pre-tax profit in contrast
to Dortmund’s €33m loss, mainly because their revenue is significantly higher
than their rivals, partially offset by Dortmund’s better profit from player
sales. Bayern’s cost base is also much higher.
In fact, Bayern have now been profitable for an amazing 30
years in a row, including €361m in the last decade alone. Profits have been lower
in the last three seasons, due to COVID restrictions, but other clubs would
still be envious of their results.
Dortmund had also made money for nine consecutive seasons up
to 2019, though they have posted losses in each of the past three years, partly
due to the impact of the pandemic, partly as they strive to compete Bayern.
Their losses in this period added up to €153m, reducing their overall profit
since 2013 to only €27m, less than a tenth of their rivals.
Dortmund’s business model is to try to offset operating
losses with profits from player trading. In this way, they have generated
nearly half a billion Euros (€472m) since 2013, including €435m in the last
seven years alone.
Bayern have been nowhere near so active with their €270m
profit from player sales in the last 10 years being around €200m less than
Dortmund. Indeed, their gain was only €7m in 2021/22. This is basically because
Bayern don’t need to make money here, as they are already doing just fine with
their normal operations.
Bayern’s €653m revenue is nearly €300m more than Dortmund’s
€357m. They are ahead in all three revenue streams, especially commercial,
where the gap is over €200m.
Looked at another way, Bayern’s €654m revenue was over 80%
more than Dortmund’s €357m, which is a massive difference between the first and
second ranked clubs in a country. This is far more than the gap in other
leading countries with the exception of France where PSG are in a class of
their own financially.
Bayern earned €90m from the Bundesliga TV deal last season,
which was €10m more than Dortmund’s €80m. There was hardly any difference in
the two clubs’ payments from the domestic deal, but Bayern received €9m more
than Dortmund from the international element.
To place this into perspective, the total payment was lower
than the club that finished last in the Premier League in 2021/22 (Norwich
City), who received €114m TV money, which was around 25% more than the German
champions.
Both Bayern and Dortmund set new club records for commercial
income last season. However, Bayern’s €378m was over twice as much as
Dortmund’s €174m with the difference being over €200m.
Bayern’s €349m wage bill is €118m more than Dortmund, even
though their €231m in 2021/22 was a club record. The gap has been wider in the
past, but this is still a considerable advantage.
There is no doubt that Bayern have a huge financial advantage
over Dortmund, as their revenue and wages are significantly higher.
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