The governance arrangements in the Bundesliga have long drawn rather uncritical admiration from fan groups in the UK, but I take a more sceptical view of the German Sonderweg in my book Political Football. (The publisher has now gone out of business but cheap pre loved – or not – copies are relatively available, or I can send an electronic copy free).
Looking at Bayern Munich, the authoritative Swiss Ramble
notes that Bundesliga clubs are actually less transparent than their
counterparts elsewhere. Polite requests
from his Zurich fastness for more information have produced little response.
What follows are the main points from the Swiss Ramble’s
analysis of Bayern, much more analysis is available on his Substack page.
Unlike many other clubs, which rack up enormous losses in
the pursuit of sporting success, Bayern have also performed very well off the
pitch, so this article will delve into their finances to try to understand what
drives their “Bavarian model”.
The latest available accounts are from the 2024/25 season,
so are now a full year out-of-date, but they are still pretty representative of
where Bayern earn their money and how they spend it. Importantly, the analysis highlights the
sizeable financial gap between Bayern and their domestic rivals, while also
showing where the German champions feature on the global stage.
Profits and revenue
Bayern once again made a significant pre-tax profit, though
the €42.5m was actually a third lower than than the previous season’s €62.7m.
Recurring revenue shot up €96m (12%) from €765m to €861m, though this was
largely offset by growth in operating expenses, which climbed €82m (10%) from
€816m to €898m. In addition, profit from
player sales fell €30m (26%) from €106m to €76m, while net interest receivable
dropped from €7.2m to €4.1m.
All three revenue streams were up. The largest year-on-year
increase came in commercial, which increased €40m (9%) from €421m to €461m,
though broadcasting was not far behind, rising €39m (19%) from €213m to €252m.
Match day grew €16m (12%) from €131m to €147m.
Bayern’s revenue was around 60% more than Dortmund, which is
a massive difference between the first and second ranked clubs in a country.
This is more than the gap in all other leading countries – with the exception
of France, where PSG are in a class of their own financially.
Bayern’s €43m pre-tax profit was the best in the Bundesliga
in 2024/25, though many other clubs also generated decent profits, especially
Stuttgart €26m, Augsburg €22m and Freiburg €16m. Unlike many other leading leagues, German
clubs very largely operate on a sustainable basis with no fewer than 12 of the
18 Bundesliga clubs posting a profit, while the losses at four of the other
clubs were less than €10m. The outliers were Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg with
losses of €26m and €18m respectively, though these were covered by shareholder
funds.
Bayern have now been profitable for an amazing 33 years in a
row, generating €440m pre-tax profit in the last 10 years alone. Indeed, the
only seasons when the net result was not a substantial positive were those that
were adversely impacted by the COVID pandemic.
In stark contrast, many European rivals reported huge
losses, especially Barcelona €1.1 bln, Paris Saint-Germain €929m, Juventus
€907m and Chelsea £864m (excluding various economic levers and asset sales).
Bayern have become increasingly reliant on player trading to
reinforce their financial strength, e.g. they made €286m profit in the last
three seasons, which was more than the previous 12 years combined.
Bayern said that they have “one of the world’s best-known
and most valuable football brands”, which is highlighted by the fact that they
have the third highest commercial income in the world, only surpassed by Real
Madrid €594m and Barcelona €522m. They generated more than the two Manchester
clubs, City €408m and United €397m, as well as Paris Saint-Germain €367m and
Liverpool €366m. Bayern’s main
partnerships are all long-term in nature, which provides significant stability
to their earnings.
European and global funds
Given the relatively low TV money domestically, the
Champions League is a very important part of Bayern’s business model. For example, in 2024/25 they earned €106m for
reaching the quarter-finals, though this was €14m less than the previous
season, when they got as far as the semi-finals.
In the five years up to 2024/25 Bayern have earned more than
half a billion Euros from the Champions League, which is good going by any
standards. Their €537m was around €100m more than Dortmund’s €439m and a lot
more than all other German rivals.
Bayern earned an estimated $58m (€51m) from the inaugural
FIFA Club World Cup, after they reached the quarter-finals, where they were
beaten by PSG. This was a significant sum for three weeks’ work, largely thanks
to FIFA’s last minute sweetheart TV rights deal with DAZN.
Bayern actually had the eighth highest match day revenue in
Europe, which might come as a surprise to some, given Germany’s famously low
ticket prices. This suggests that some seats are actually sold for reasonably
high prices, while they must earn a fair amount from corporates and
hospitality.
Bayern’s wage bill rose €13m (3%) from €430m to €443m, which
was a new club record, impacted by contract extensions for Alphonso Davies,
Jamal Musiala and Joshua Kimmich. The underlying increase was probably higher,
as the previous season probably included the cost of Tuchel’s departure. Bayern’s wages have shot up by €94m (27%) in
just three years. Bayern’s €443m wages
are significantly higher than every other club in the Bundesliga, which means
that they enjoy a major competitive advantage and helps explain their
multi-year domination.
Financial dominancce
Bayern’s financial dominance in Germany was more evident in
terms of net transfer spend, where their €222m was easily the highest in the
league, more than twice as much as Wolfsburg’s €104m. Only four other clubs
ended up with net spend, all less than €15m.
The club has not received any funding from its owners since a €110m capital injection in 2013/14. This is in stark contrast to many elite clubs, who have been far more reliant on their owners.
The Swiss Ramble concludes: ‘There are a couple of areas off the pitch that Bayern will have to keep an eye on, as they now regularly generate operating losses, driven by the need to invest in the squad to remain competitive internationally, which requires higher player sales to compensate. That being said, there is no doubt that Bayern’s financial performance puts most of the European elite to shame.’
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