Bayern Munich is one of the most widely supported football clubs in the world,[5] and in November 2025, Bayern had more than 432,500 official club members,[6] and 4,425 officially registered fan clubs, with over 328,564 members,[7] making the clubthe largest sports club in the world by membership.[8][9] The club has other departments for chess, handball,basketball, gymnastics, bowling, table tennis and senior football, with more than 1,500 active members.[10] Since the beginning of the2005–06 season, Bayern has played its home games at theAllianz Arena. Previously, the team had played at Munich'sOlympiastadion for 33 years. The team colours are red and white, and the crest shows the white and blueflag of Bavaria. Bayern Munich has the largest revenue out of any German sports club and the fifth highest-earning football club in the world. Bayern earned a record breaking€978.3 million in the 2024–25 season.[11]
The first game of Bayern Munich against1. FC Nürnberg in 1901
Bayern Munich was founded by members of a Munich gymnastics club (MTV 1879). When a congregation of members of MTV 1879 decided on 27 February 1900 that the footballers of the club would not be allowed to join theGerman Football Association (DFB), eleven members of the football division left the congregation and on the same evening founded Fußball-Club Bayern München. Within a few months, Bayern achieved high-scoring victories against all local rivals, including a 15–0 win against Nordstern,[12] and reached the semi-finals of the 1900–01South German championship.[4] In the following years, the club won some local trophies, and, in 1910–11, Bayern joined the newly founded "Kreisliga", the first regional Bavarian league. The club won this league in its first year, but did not win it again until the beginning of theFirst World War in 1914, which halted all football activities in Germany.[13][14] By the end of its first decade of founding, Bayern had its first German national team player, Max Gablonsky.[15] By 1920, it had over 700 members, making it the largest football club in Munich.[15]
In the years after the war, Bayern won several regional competitions before winning its first South German championship in 1926, an achievement repeated two years later.[13][16] Its first national title was gained in1932, when coachRichard "Little Dombi" Kohn led the team to theGerman championship by defeatingEintracht Frankfurt 2–0 in the final.[13]
The rise ofAdolf Hitler to power put an abrupt end to Bayern's development. Club presidentKurt Landauer and the coach, both of whom were Jewish, left the country. Many others in the club were also purged. Bayern was taunted as the "Jew's club", while local rival1860 Munich gained much support. Josef Sauter, who was inaugurated in 1943, was the only NSDAP member as president. After a friendly match in Switzerland, some Bayern players greeted Landauer, who was a spectator, and the club was subject to continued discrimination.[17] Bayern was also affected by the ruling that football players had to be full amateurs again, which led to the move of gifted young centre-forwardOskar Rohr toSwitzerland. In the following years, Bayern could not sustain its role of contender for the national title, achieving mid-table results in its regional league instead.[18]
After the end of theSecond World War in 1945, Bayern became a member of theOberliga Süd, the southern conference of the German first division, which was split five ways at that time. Bayern struggled, hiring and firing 13 coaches between 1945 and 1963. Landauer returned from exile in 1947, and was once again appointed club president, the tenure lasted until 1951. He remains as the club's president with the longest accumulated tenure. Landauer has been deemed the most important figure in Bayern's transition to a professional club.[19][20] In 1955, the club was relegated but returned to theOberliga in the following season and won theDFB-Pokal for the first time, beatingFortuna Düsseldorf 1–0 in thefinal.[21][22]
The club struggled financially, though, verging on bankruptcy at the end of the 1950s. President Reitlinger was ousted in the club's elections of 1958 by the industrialist Roland Endler, who provided financial stability for the club. Under his reign, Bayern had its best years in the Oberliga.[23] Endler was no longer a candidate in 1962, when Wilhelm Neudecker,[24] who became wealthy in the postwar construction boom, replaced him.[25]
In 1963, the Oberligas in Germany were consolidated into one national league, theBundesliga. Five teams from the Oberliga South were admitted. The key to qualifying for the Bundesliga was the accumulated record of the last twelve years, where Bayern was only the sixth-ranked club. To boot, local rivals1860 Munich, ranked seventh, were champions of the last Oberliga-Süd season and were given preference on the basis of this achievement.[26][27] After initial protests by Bayern for alleged mistreatment remained fruitless, president Neudecker rose to the challenge and hiredZlatko Čajkovski, who in 1962 led1. FC Köln to the national championship. Fielding a team with young players likeFranz Beckenbauer,Gerd Müller andSepp Maier – who would later be collectively referred to asthe axis, they achieved promotion to the Bundesliga in 1965.[22]
In their first Bundesligaseason, Bayern finished third and also won theDFB-Pokal. This qualified them for the following year'sEuropean Cup Winners' Cup, which they won in thefinal against Scottish clubRangers,Franz Roth scoring the decider in a 1–0extra time victory.[22] In 1967, Bayern retained theDFB-Pokal, but slow overall progress sawBranko Zebec take over as coach. He replaced Bayern's offensive style of play with a more disciplined approach, and in doing so achieved the firstleague andcupdouble in Bundesliga history in 1969. Bayern Munich are one of five German clubs to win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal in the same season along withBorussia Dortmund,1. FC Köln,Werder Bremen andBayer Leverkusen. Zebec used only 13 players throughoutthe season.[28]
Udo Lattek took charge in 1970. After winning theDFB-Pokal inhis first season, Lattek led Bayern to theirthird German championship. The deciding match in the1971–72 season againstSchalke 04 was the first match in the newOlympiastadion, and was also the first live televised match in Bundesliga history. Bayern beat Schalke 5–1, so won the title, while also setting several records, including points gained and goals scored.[29] Bayern also won the next two championships, but the zenith was their triumph in the1974 European Cup Final againstAtlético Madrid, which Bayern won 4–0 after a replay.[30] This title – after winning the Cup Winners' trophy 1967 and two semi-finals (1968 and1972) in that competition – marked the club's breakthrough as a force on the international stage.
The three consecutive European Cup trophies won by Bayern Munich from 1974 to 1976. The one on the far right is the real trophy, given to Bayern permanently. The ones on the left are slightly smaller replicas.
During the following years, the team was unsuccessful domestically, but defended their European title by defeatingLeeds United in the1975 European Cup final, when Roth and Müller secured victory with late goals. "We came back into the game and scored two lucky goals, so in the end, we were the winners, but we were very, very lucky", stated Franz Beckenbauer.Billy Bremner believed the French referee was "very suspicious". Leeds fans then rioted inParis and were banned from European football for three years.[31] A year later inthe final inGlasgow, another Roth goal helped defeatSaint-Étienne, and Bayern became the third club to win the trophy in three consecutive years. The final trophy won by Bayern in this era was theIntercontinental Cup, in which they defeated Brazilian clubCruzeiro over two legs.[32] The rest of the decade was a time of change and saw no further titles for Bayern. In 1977, Franz Beckenbauer left forNew York Cosmos and, in 1979, Sepp Maier andUli Hoeneß retired while Gerd Müller joined theFort Lauderdale Strikers.[33]Bayerndusel was coined during this period as an expression of either contempt or envy about the sometimes narrow and last-minute wins against other teams.[34][35][36][37]
The 1980s were a period of off-field turmoil for Bayern, with many changes in personnel and financial problems. On the field,Paul Breitner andKarl-Heinz Rummenigge, termed "FC Breitnigge", led the team to Bundesliga titles in1980 and1981. Apart from a DFB-Pokal win in1982, two relatively unsuccessful seasons followed, after which Breitner retired, and former coach Udo Lattek returned. Bayern won the DFB-Pokal in1984 and went on to win five Bundesliga championships in six seasons, including adouble in1986. European success, however, was elusive during the decade; Bayern, though, finished as runner-up in the European Cups of1982 and1987.[38]
Further international trophies won by Bayern. The win in the1967 Cup Winners' Cup marked the beginning of the clubs' succes on the European stage.
Jupp Heynckes was hired as coach in 1987, but after two consecutive championships in1988–89 and1989–90, Bayern's form dipped. After finishing second in1990–91, the club finished just five points above the relegation places in1991–92. In1993–94, Bayern was eliminated in theUEFA Cup second round toPremier League sideNorwich City, who were the only English club to beat Bayern at the Olympiastadion during Bayern's time playing there.[39] Franz Beckenbauer took over for the second half of the 1993–94 season, winning thechampionship again after a four-year gap. Beckenbauer was then appointed club president.[40]
His successors as coach,Giovanni Trapattoni andOtto Rehhagel, both finished trophyless after a season, not meeting the club's high expectations.[41] During this time, Bayern's players frequently appeared in the gossip pages of the press rather than the sports pages, resulting in the nickname "FC Hollywood".[42] Franz Beckenbauer briefly returned at the end of the1995–96 season as caretaker coach and led his team to victory in theUEFA Cup, beatingBordeaux in thefinal.[43] For the1996–97 season, Trapattoni returned to winthe championship. In thefollowing season, Bayern lostthe title to newly promotedKaiserslautern and Trapattoni had to take his leave for the second time.[44][45]
Felix Magath took over and led Bayern to two consecutive doubles. Prior to the start of the2005–06 season, Bayern moved from the Olympiastadion to the newAllianz Arena, which the club shared with 1860 Munich.[53] On the field, their performance in2006–07 was erratic. Trailing in the league and having lost to Alemannia Aachen in the cup yet again, coach Magath was sacked shortly after the winter break.[54] Hitzfeld returned as a trainer in January 2007, but Bayern finished the2006–07 season in fourth position, meaning noChampions League qualification for the first time in more than a decade. Additional losses in theDFB-Pokal and theDFB-Ligapokal left the club with no honours for the season.
Domestic dominance and continental treble (2000s–2010s)
For the2007–08 season, Bayern made drastic squad changes to help rebuild.[55] Among new signings were2006 World Cup players such asFranck Ribéry,Miroslav Klose andLuca Toni. Bayern won the Bundesliga in convincing fashion, leading the standings on every single week of play, and theDFB-Pokal against Borussia Dortmund.[56] After the season, Bayern's long-term goalkeeperOliver Kahn retired,[57] which left the club without a top-tier goalkeeper for several seasons. The club's coachOttmar Hitzfeld also retired andJürgen Klinsmann was chosen as his successor.[58] However, Klinsmann was sacked before the end of his first season as Bayern trailedWolfsburg in the league, had lost the quarterfinal of the DFB-Pokal toBayer Leverkusen, and were defeated in the quarterfinal of the Champions League byBarcelona, conceding four goals in the first half of the first leg.Jupp Heynckes was named caretaker coach and led the club to a second-place finish in the league.[59]
For the2009–10 season, Bayern hired Dutch managerLouis van Gaal,[60] and Dutch forwardArjen Robben joined Bayern.[61] Robben, alongside Ribéry, would go on to shape Bayern's playstyle of attacking over the wings for the next ten years. The press quickly dubbed the duo "Robbery". In addition,David Alaba andThomas Müller were promoted to the first team. Van Gaal stated: "With me, Müller always plays", which has become a much-referenced phrase over the years.[62] On the pitch, Bayern had its most successful season since 2001, securing the domestic double[63] and losing only in thefinal of the Champions League to Inter Milan.[64] Van Gaal was fired in April 2011 as Bayern was trailing in the league and eliminated in the firstknockout round of the Champions League, again by Inter.[65] Heynckes returned for his second permanent spell in the2011–12 season. Although the club had signedManuel Neuer, ending Bayern's quest for an adequate substitute for Kahn, andJérôme Boateng for the season, Bayern remained without a title for a second consecutive season, coming in second to Borussia Dortmund in the league and the cup.[66] TheChampions League final was held at theAllianz Arena and Bayern reached the final in their home stadium but lost toChelsea on penalties.[67]
Bayern Munich went on to win all titles in the2012–13 season. They set various Bundesliga records along the way,[68] becoming the first German team to win thetreble. Bayern finished top of the Bundesliga with a record 91 points, only eleven points shy of a perfect season. In what was Bayern's thirdChampions League final appearance within four years, they beat Borussia Dortmund 2–1.[69] A week later, they completed the treble by winning theDFB-Pokal final againstStuttgart.[70] During the season, the club announced that they would hirePep Guardiola as coach for the2013–14 season. Originally, the club presented this as Heynckes retiring on the expiration of his contract, butUli Hoeneß later admitted that it was not Heynckes's decision to leave Bayern at the end of the season. It was actually forced by the club's desire to appoint Guardiola.[71]
Guardiola's first season started off well, with Bayern extending a streak of undefeated league matches from the previous season to 53 matches. An eventual loss toAugsburg came two match days after Bayern had won the league title.[72] During the season, Bayern had also claimed two other titles, theFIFA Club World Cup and theUEFA Super Cup,[73][74] the latter being the last major trophy the club had not yet won. Bayern also won thecup to complete their tenth domestic double,[75] but lost in thesemi-final of the Champions League toReal Madrid.[76] Off the pitch, Bayern's president Uli Hoeneß was convicted of tax evasion in March 2014, and sentenced to3+1⁄2 years in prison. Hoeneß resigned the next day,[77] and vice-presidentKarl Hopfner was elected president in May.[78] Under Guardiola, Bayern also won the Bundesliga in2014–15 and2015–16, including another double in 2015–16,[79] but did not advance past the semi-finals in the Champions League. Although the club's leadership tried to convince Guardiola to stay, the coach decided not to extend his three-year contract.[80]Carlo Ancelotti was hired as successor to Guardiola.[81] Off the pitch, Uli Hoeneß had been released early from prison and reelected as president in November 2016.[82]
Under Ancelotti, Bayern won a fifth consecutive league title.[83] In July 2017, Bayern announced that1860 Munich would leave the Allianz Arena for good as the club had been relegated to the fourth-tierRegionalliga due to financial problems.[84] During the2017–18 season, Bayern's performances were perceived to be increasingly lacklustre, and Ancelotti was sacked after a 3–0 loss toParis Saint-Germain in theChampions League, early in his second season.[85]Willy Sagnol took over as interim manager for a week, before Jupp Heynckes was announced as coach for the rest of the season, in what was his fourth spell at the club.[86] During the season, the club urged Heynckes—even publicly—to extend his contract, but Heynckes, aged 73, stayed firm that he would retire after the season.[87] Heynckes led the club to another championship, but lost the cup final againstEintracht Frankfurt. Eintracht's coach,Niko Kovač, was named Heynckes' successor at Bayern.[88] In Kovač's first season at Bayern, the club was eliminated byLiverpool in theround of 16 in the Champions League, the first time since 2011 that Bayern did not reach the quarter-final.[89] Bayern won their seventh straight Bundesliga title, however, as they finished two points above Dortmund with 78 points. This Bundesliga title was Ribéry's ninth and Robben's eighth.[90] A week later, Bayern defeatedRB Leipzig 3–0 in the2019 DFB-Pokal final to win their 19th German Cup and to complete their 12th domestic double.[91]
Kovač was sacked after a 5–1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, withHansi Flick being promoted to interim manager in November 2019.[92][93] After a satisfying spell as interim, Bayern announced a month later that Flick would remain in charge.[94] Under Flick, the club won theleague, having played the most successful second half of a Bundesliga season in history, winning all but one match, which was drawn.[95] The club also won thecup, completing the club's 13th domestic double.[96] In theChampions League, Bayern reached their first final since 2013, having beaten Barcelona8–2 in the quarter-finals.[97] Bayern defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1–0 in thefinal, which was held in Lisbonbehind closed doors due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. Former PSG playerKingsley Coman scored the only goal of the match.[98] Bayern became the second European club after Barcelona to complete theseasonal treble in two different seasons.[99]
Bayern started the2020–21 season by winning theUEFA Super Cup for the second time in their history. Bayern also won theFIFA Club World Cup, defeating Mexican teamTigres 1–0 in the final. Bayern became the second club to win thesextuple, after Barcelona did so in 2009.[100] The club also won itsninth Bundesliga title in a row.[101] During the season,Robert Lewandowski brokeGerd Müller's record for most goals scored in a Bundesliga season, having scored 41 times in 29 matches.[102] Flick left at the end of the 2020–21 season to manage the Germany national team, and at Flick's request,RB Leipzig managerJulian Nagelsmann succeeded him.[103][104] According to several news reports, Bayern paid Leipzig €25m as compensation for Nagelsmann's services, a world record for a manager.[105]
On 29 May 2024,Vincent Kompany was confirmed as the new head coach of Bayern and received a three-year contract.[111] Bayern started the2024–25 Bundesliga with a 3–2 win atVfL Wolfsburg.[112] On 5 May 2025, they won their 33rd Bundesliga title (34th German title) after a 2–2 draw betweenSC Freiburg andBayer Leverkusen, made them champions with two games to spare.[113] The end of the2024–25 season saw the departure of club legendThomas Müller. Having spent 25 years at the club including 17 full seasons with the first team, the club announced its decision not to offer Müller a contract extension.[114] He left the club as theall-time record appearance holder, having earned a record 756 caps across all competitions, winning a record 33 titles with Bayern, and settingnumerous records along the way.
The club started the new season in strong fashion by winning the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, previously known as the DFL-Supercup. New signingLuis Diaz scored the deciding goal in thefinal. Bayern also came out flying in the2025–26 Bundesliga season opener by convincingly defeatingRB Leipzig 6–0. The team turned the good start into a winning streak and the club managed to set a new record across Europe's top five leagues (a record previously held by AC Milan since 1992–93) with 16 wins in 16 games across all competitions.[115] The winning streak came to an end on matchday 10 in the Bundesliga. Bayern were heading for a defeat against Union Berlin until a late Harry Kane equaliser secured the team a point.
In the original club constitution, Bayern's colours were named as white and blue, but the club played in white shirts with black shorts until 1905 when Bayern joined MSC. MSC decreed that the footballers would have to play in red shorts. Also, the younger players were called red shorts, which were meant as an insult.[4] For most of the club's early history, Bayern had primarily worn white and maroon home kits. In the1968–69 season, Bayern changed to red and blue striped shirts, with blue shorts and socks. Between 1969 and 1973, the team wore a home strip of red and white striped shirts with either red or white shorts and red socks. In the1973–74 season, the team switched to an all-white kit featuring single vertical red and blue stripes on the shirt.
From 1974 onwards, Bayern has mostly worn an all-red home kit with white trim. Bayern revived the red and blue striped colour scheme between 1995 and 1997. In 1997, blue was the dominant colour for the first time when Adidas released an all navy blue home kit with a red chest band. In 1999, Bayern returned to a predominantly red kit, which featured blue sleeves, and, in 2000, the club released a traditional all-red kit with white trim to be worn for Champions League matches.[116] Bayern also wore aRotwein-coloured home kit in Bundesliga matches between 2001 and 2003, and during the2006–07 Champions League campaign, in reference to their first-choice colours prior to the late 1960s.[117]
The club's away kit has had a wide range of colours, including white, black, blue, and gold-green. Bayern also features a distinct international kit. During the2013–14 season, Bayern used an all-red home kit with aBavarian flag diamond watermark pattern, aLederhosen-inspired white and blackOktoberfest away kit, and an all-navy blue international kit.[118] In the 1980s and 1990s, Bayern used a special away kit when playing atKaiserslautern, representing theBrazilian colours blue and yellow, asuperstition borne from the fact that the club found it hard to win there.[119][120]
Bayern's crest has changed several times. Originally it consisted of the stylised letters F, C, B, M, which were woven into one symbol. The original crest was blue. The colours ofBavaria were included for the first time in 1954.[116] The crest from 1919 to 1924 denotes "Bayern FA", whereby "FA" stands forFußball-Abteilung, i.e., Football Department; Bayern then was integrated into TSV Jahn Munich and constituted its football department.[citation needed]
The modern version of the crest has changed from the 1954 version in several steps.[116] While the crest consisted of a single colour only for most of the time, namely blue or red, the current crest is blue, red, and white. It has the colours of Bavaria in its centre, and FC Bayern München is written in white on a red ring enclosing the Bavarian colours.
Model of Bayern's first stadium, their home from 1906 to 1924
Bayern played its first training games at the Schyrenplatz in the centre ofMunich. The first official games were held on theTheresienwiese. In 1901, Bayern moved to a field of its own, located inSchwabing at theClemensstraße. After joining the Münchner Sport-Club (MSC) in 1906, Bayern moved in May 1907 to MSC's ground at theLeopoldstraße.[125] As the crowds gathering for Bayern's home games increased at the beginning of the 1920s, Bayern had to switch to various other premises in Munich.[126]
From 1925, Bayern shared theGrünwalder Stadion with1860 Munich.[127] Until the Second World War, the stadium was owned by 1860 Munich, and is still colloquially known asSechz'ger ("Sixties") Stadium. It was destroyed during the war, and efforts to rebuild it resulted in a patchwork. Bayern's record crowd at the Grünwalder Stadion is reported as more than 50,000 in the home game against1. FC Nürnberg in the1961–62 season.[128] In theBundesliga era, the stadium had a maximum capacity of 44,000, which was reached on several occasions, but the capacity has since been reduced to 21,272. As was the case at most of this period's stadiums, the vast majority of the stadium was given over to terracing. Since 1995, the second teams and youth teams of both clubs played in the stadium.[129][130]
TheOlympiastadion, home of Bayern Munich from 1972 to 2005
For the1972 Summer Olympics, the city of Munich built theOlympiastadion. The stadium, renowned for its architecture,[131] was inaugurated in the last Bundesliga match of the1971–72 season. The match drew a capacity crowd of 79,000, a total which was reached again on numerous occasions. In its early days, the stadium was considered one of the foremost stadiums in the world, and played host to numerous major finals, such as that of the1974 FIFA World Cup.[132] In the following years, the stadium underwent several modifications, such as an increase in seating space from approximately 50 per cent to 66 per cent. Eventually, the stadium had a capacity of 63,000 for national matches and 59,000 for international occasions such as European Cup competitions. Many people, however, began to feel that the stadium was too cold in winter, with half the audience exposed to the weather due to lack of cover. A further complaint was the distance between the spectators and the pitch, betraying the stadium's track and field heritage. Renovation proved impossible, as the architectGünther Behnisch vetoed major modifications of the stadium.[133]After much discussion, the city of Munich, the state ofBavaria, Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich jointly decided at the end of 2000 to build a new stadium. While Bayern had wanted a purpose-built football stadium for several years, the awarding of the2006 FIFA World Cup to Germany stimulated the discussion as the Olympiastadion no longer met theFIFA criteria to host a World Cup game. Located on the northern outskirts of Munich, theAllianz Arena has been in use since the beginning of the2005–06 season.[133] Since August 2012, 2,000 more seats were added in the last row of the top tier, increasing the capacity to 71,000.[134] In January 2015, a proposal to increase the capacity was approved by the city council, with the Allianz Arena holding a capacity of 75,000 (70,000 in Champions League). The stadium's most prominent feature is the translucent outer layer, which can be illuminated in different colours for effects. Red lighting is used for Bayern home games and white forGermany national team home games.[135] In May 2012, Bayern opened a museum about its history, Bayern Erlebniswelt, inside the Allianz Arena.
A part of the "Südkurve" – the usual spot of the ultra-scene at Allianz Arena
At the 2018 annual general meeting, the Bayern board reported that the club had 291,000 official members and 4,433 officially registered fan clubs with over 390,000 members.[136] This made the club thelargest fan membership club in the world.[137] Bayern has an average of 75,000 fans at the Allianz Arena which is at 100 per cent capacity level. Every Bundesliga game has been sold-out for years.[138] Bayern's away games have also been sold out for many years.[139] According to a study by Sport+Markt from 2010, Bayern is the fifth-most popular football club in Europe with 20.7 million supporters, ranking first of all German clubs.[140]
The club's most prominentultra groups areSchickeria München,Inferno Bavaria,Red Munichs '89,Südkurve '73,Munichmaniacs 1996,Red Angels, andRed Sharks. The ultras scene of Bayern Munich has been recognised for certain groups taking stance against right-wing extremism, racism and homophobia,[141][142][143] and in 2014 the group Schickeria München received the Julius Hirsch Award by the DFB for its commitment against antisemitism and discrimination.[144][145][146][147]
Stern des Südens is the song which fans sing at FCB home games. In the 1990s, they also used to singFC Bayern, Forever Number One.[148] Another notable song isMia San Mia[b] (Bavarian for "we are who we are"), which is a well-known motto of the club as well.[150] A renownedcatchphrase for the team is "Packmas", which is a Bavarian phrase for the German "Packen wir es", which means "let's do it".[151] The club'smascot is an anthropomorphic bear named "Berni" since 2004.[152]
Bayern–Dortmund are two of the most successful teams in German football, having won a combined total of 26 of the past 31 Bundesliga titles as of the2023–24 season. The two teams fought closely for the Bundesliga title in the early 2010s, and met in the2013 UEFA Champions League final. The rivalry between the clubs grew during the 1990s, as Dortmund's stature increased to challenge perennial title favourites Bayern, winning twoBundesliga titles in1994–95 and1995–96.
The teams met in the quarter-finals of thenext edition of the Champions League, and Dortmund prevailed over two legs thanks to a single goal fromStéphane Chapuisat. That summer, Bayern hired Dortmund's successful coachOttmar Hitzfeld to work for them. Tempers flared twice during Bayern and Dortmund's second meeting in the1998–99 Bundesliga, as Bayern goalkeeperOliver Kahn first attempted a flying kung-fu kick at Chapuisat, and later appeared to biteHeiko Herrlich's ear.
In the early 2000s, both clubs remained successful, as Bayern lost one Champions League final (1999) then won another (2001) in addition to more domestic success, while Dortmund won the2001–02 Bundesliga and reached theUEFA Cup final the same year. An angry 2001 league meeting between the pair was notable for ten yellow cards and three red being shown (a Bundesliga record for indiscipline). However, Dortmund soon fell heavily into debt, and a €2m loan from Bayern in 2004 was a major reason for them being saved frombankruptcy.
On 19 April 2008, the two sides clashed in the2008 DFB-Pokal final for the first time that took place inBerlin.Luca Toni opened the scoring after eleven minutes, butMladen Petric drew Dortmund level in stoppage time, forcing thirty additional minutes. The Italian completed his double in extra time, thus lifting Bayern to cup glory.
Amongst Bayern's chief European rivals areBarcelona,[155]Real Madrid,[156]AC Milan,[157] andManchester United.[158]Real Madrid versus Bayern is the match that has historically been played most often in the Champions League/European Cup with 28 matches. Due to Bayern being traditionally hard to beat for Madrid, Madrid supporters often refer to Bayern as the "Bestia negra" ("Black Beast").[159] Despite the number of duels, Bayern and Real have never met in the final of a Champions League or European Cup.
Professional football at Bayern is run by the spin-off organisationFC Bayern München AG.AG is short forAktiengesellschaft, and Bayern is run like ajoint stock company, a company whose stock are not listed on the public stock exchange, but is privately owned. 75 per cent ofFC Bayern München AG is owned by the club, theFC Bayern München e. V. (e. V. is short foreingetragener Verein, which translates into "registered association"). Three German corporations, the sports goods manufacturerAdidas, the automobile companyAudi and the financial services groupAllianz each hold 8.33 per cent of the shares, 25 per cent in total.[162] Adidas acquired its shares in 2002 for €77 million. The money was designated to help finance theAllianz Arena.[165] In 2009, Audi paid €90 million for their share. The capital was used to repay the loan on the Allianz Arena.[166] And in early 2014, Allianz became the third shareholder of the company acquiring theirs share for €110 million. With the sale, Bayern paid off the remaining debt on the Allianz Arena 16 years ahead of schedule.[167]
Bayern's shirt sponsor isDeutsche Telekom. Deutsche Telekom has been Bayern's shirt sponsor since the start of 2002–03 season. The company extended their sponsorship deal in August 2015 until the end of the 2026–27 season.[168] Previous kit sponsors wereAdidas[169] (1974–78),Magirus Deutz andIveco[170] (1978–84),Commodore[171] (1984–89) andOpel[172] (1989–2002). Bayern's kit manufacturer is Adidas, who have been Bayern's kit manufacturer since 1974. The deal with Adidas runs until the end of the 2029–30 season.[173]
Bayern is an exception in professional football, having generated profits for 27 consecutive years.[136] Other clubs often report losses, realising transfers via loans, whereas Bayern always usescurrent assets. For the 2023–24 season/DFML edition, Bayern Munich ranked fifth worldwide with revenues of approximately €765.4 million. In the 2024–25 season, Bayern had the fifth highest revenue in club football, generating revenue of €978.3 million. Bayern had the second-highest commercial revenue in the 2019 Deloitte Football Money League, behind only Real Madrid. Bayern's commercial revenue was €348.7 million (55 per cent of total revenue). In the 2022 DFML figures, they had €611.4 million total revenue, of which €345.2 million (≈ 52%) came from commercial income (sponsorships, merchandising, licensing). In contrast, Bayern's matchday revenue trails other top clubs at €103.8 million (17 per cent of their total revenue).[174] In 2017,Forbes ranked Bayern as the world's fourth-most valuable football club in theirannual list, estimating the club's value at €2.5 billion.[175] Their position (fifth/sixth) indicates elite status—both in sporting and financial terms. Their strong commercial base gives them resilience, though the gap to the very top clubs (e.g., those generating > €1 billion) remains.
While other European clubs have mainly marketed to international audiences, Bayern had focused on Germany.[176] Since the 2010s, Bayern have started to focus their marketing more onAsia and theUnited States. Bayern made summer tours to the United States in 2014 and 2016.[177][178] Bayern went toChina in the summer of 2015 and returned in the summer of 2017, where they also played games inSingapore. Then for the “Audi Summer Tour 2023” they planned a trip to Asia (Japan) from 24 July to 3 August. On the summer of 2024 the club went toSeoul, for the first time the club went toSouth Korea. In August 2014, Bayern opened an office inNew York City as the club wants to strengthen their brand positioning against other top European clubs in the United States.[179] In March 2017, Bayern opened an office inShanghai, China.[180]
Further international expansion followed in 2022 and 2025 as the club opened an office first inBangkok,Thailand and then in Seoul, South Korea.[181]
Bayern has been involved with charitable ventures for a long time, helping other football clubs in financial disarray as well as ordinary people in misery. In the wake of the2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami the "FC Bayern – Hilfe e. V." was founded, a foundation that aims to concentrate the social engagements of the club.[182] At its inception, this venture was funded with €600,000, raised by officials and players of the club.[183] The money was, amongst other things, used to build a school in Marathenkerny,Sri Lanka,[183] and to rebuild the area ofTrincomalee, Sri Lanka.[182]
The club has also assisted other sport clubs in financial disarray. The club has supported its local rival1860 Munich with player transfers at favourable rates and direct money transfers.[184] WhenSt. Pauli threatened to lose its licence for professional football due to financial problems,[when?] Bayern met the club for a friendly game, giving allgate receipts to St. Pauli.[185] In 1993,Alexander Zickler transferred fromDynamo Dresden to Bayern for 2.3 MillionDM, with many considering the sum to have been a subvention for the financially threatened Dresdeners.[186] In 2003, Bayern provided a €2 Million loan to the nearly bankruptBorussia Dortmund.[187][188][189] In 2009,Mark van Bommel's home clubFortuna Sittard was in financial distress; Bayern played a charity game at the Dutch club, gifting them gate receipts.[190] In 2013, Bayern played a charity game against financially threatened third division sideHansa Rostock. The game raised about €1 million, securing Hansa's licence.[191] In 2017, Bayern played a benefit match against financial troubledKickers Offenbach, with all gate receipts going to Kickers Offenbach.[192] Two years later, Bayern played a benefit match against Kaiserslautern. The match was played so Kaiserslautern could secure their licence to play in the German third division. All income from the match went to Kaiserslautern.[193] In March 2020, Bayern, Borussia Dortmund,RB Leipzig andBayer Leverkusen, the four German UEFA Champions League teams for the 2019–20 season, collectively gave €20 million to Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga teams that were struggling financially during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[194]
In mid-2013, Bayern was the first club to give financial support to theMagnus Hirschfeld National Foundation. The foundation researches the living environment ofLGBT people, and develops an education concept to facilitate unbiased dealing with LGBT themes in football.[195] In 2016, Bayern received the Nine Values Cup, an award of the international children's social programmeFootball for Friendship.[196]
Bayern Munich headquarters and training facility is called Säbener Straße and it is located in theUntergiesing-Harlaching borough of Munich. The first team and the reserve team train at the facility.[197] There are five grass pitches, two of which have undersoil heating, two artificial grass fields, a beach volleyball court and a multi-functional sports hall.[198]
In August 2017, the club'ssports complex, theBayern Campus, opened at a cost of €70 million.[199] The campus is located north of Munich atIngolstädter Straße. The campus is 30 hectare and has eight football pitches for youth teams from the U-9s to the U-19s and the women's and girls' teams. The campus also has a 2,500-capacity stadium where the U-17s and the U-19s play their matches. The Allianz Bayern Akademie is located on the campus site, and the academy has 35 apartments for young talents who do not live in the Greater Munich area. The academy building also has offices for youth coaches and staff.[200]
Bayern is historically the most successful team in German football, as they have won the mostchampionships and the mostcups. They are also Germany's most successful team in international competitions, having won fourteen trophies. Bayern is the only club to havewon all three major European competitions, to have won three consecutiveEuropean Cups and to have won thetreble twice, one of which was part of the larger, and more elusive, "sextuple" (2020).
During each calendar year, Bayern Munich only have six trophies available to them. A sextuple consists of going "six for six" in those competitions, which Bayern accomplished in 2020. This rare feat consists of winning the Continental treble in one season, followed by winning each of the three additional competitions, to which the treble gives a club access in the following season.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
The following players have been called-up toBayern Munich squad for any official competition match, and some have officially debuted. They are those who have been promoted from thereserve team squad and theyouth sector squads also, with whom they regularly play for. The listed numbers are those being officially assigned to players who are taking part during thecurrent season. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Bayern has had 20 coaches since its promotion to the Bundesliga in 1965.Udo Lattek,Giovanni Trapattoni andOttmar Hitzfeld served two terms as head coach.Franz Beckenbauer served one term as head coach and one as caretaker, whileJupp Heynckes had four separate spells as coach, including one as caretaker.[212] Lattek was the club's most successful coach, having won six Bundesliga titles, two DFB Cups and the European Cup; following closely is Ottmar Hitzfeld, who won five Bundesliga titles, two DFB Cups and the Champions League. The club's least successful coach wasSøren Lerby, who won less than a third of his matches in charge and presided over the club's near-relegation in the 1991–92 campaign.[213][214]
The reserve team,FC Bayern Munich II, serves mainly as the final stepping stone for promising young players before being promoted to the main team. The team competes in theRegionalliga Bayern, the fourth level ofGerman football. Their greatest achievement to date was winning the3. Liga in the2019–20 season. Since the inception of theRegionalliga in 1994, the team played in theRegionalliga Süd, after playing in theOberliga since 1978. In the 2007–08 season, they qualified for the newly founded 3. Liga, where they lasted until 2011 when they were relegated to the Regionalliga. This ended 33 consecutive years of playing in the highest league that theGerman Football Association permits the second team of a professional football team to play.[56][220]
The women's football department consists of five teams, including a professional team, a reserve team, and two youth teams. Thewomen's first team, which is led by head coachThomas Wörle, features several members of the German national youth team. In the2008–09 season, the team finished second in thewomen's Bundesliga. The division was founded in 1970 and consisted of four teams with 90 players. Their greatest successes were winning thechampionships in 1976, 2015, and 2016.[226] In the 2011–12 season on 12 May 2012, FC Bayern Munich dethroned the German Cup title holders 1. FFC Frankfurt with a 2–0 in the 2011–12 final in Cologne and celebrated the biggest success of the club's history since winning the championship in 1976. In 2015, they won the Bundesliga for the first time, without any defeat. They won the 2015–16 Bundesliga for the second consecutive time.[227]
The senior football department was founded in 2002 and consists of five teams. The division is intended to enable senior athletes to participate in the various senior citizen competitions in Munich.[228] The FC Bayern AllStars were founded in summer 2006, and consists of former Bayern players, includingKlaus Augenthaler,Raimond Aumann,Andreas Brehme,Paul Breitner,Hans Pflügler,Stefan Reuter,Paulo Sérgio, andOlaf Thon. The team is coached byWolfgang Dremmler, and plays matches with other senior teams around the world. For organisational reasons, the team can only play a limited number of games annually.[229] The refereeing department was established in 1919 and is currently the largest football refereeing division in Europe, with 110 referees, with 2 of them women. The referees mainly officiate amateur games in the local Munich leagues.[230][231]
The bowling department emerged from SKC Real-Isaria in 1983 and currently consists of five teams. Directly next to the well-known club building of the football department, the team plays at the bowling alley of the Münchner Kegler-Verein. The first team plays in the second highest division of the Münchner Spielklasse Bezirksliga.[234][235]
The chess department was created in 1908 and consists of nine teams, including seven men's teams and two women's teams. The men's team, which currently plays in theChess Bundesliga following promotion in 2013 from the 2. Bundesliga Ost, was nine-time German Champion from 1983 to 1995. The team also won theEuropean Chess Club Cup in 1992. The women currently play in the 2. Bundesliga with their biggest successes being promotion to the Frauenbundesliga in 2016[236] and 2018.[237]
Logo of the handball department
The handball department was founded in 1945, and consists of thirteen teams, including three men's teams, two women's teams, five boys teams, two girls teams, and a mixed youth team. The first men's team plays in the Bezirksoberliga Oberbayern, while the women's first teams plays in the Bezirksliga Oberbayern.[238][239]
The table tennis department was founded in 1946 and currently[when?] has 220 members. The club currently has fourteen teams, including eight men's teams, a women's team, three youth teams, and two children teams. The women's first team is currently playing in the Landesliga Süd/Ost, while the men's first team plays in the 3. Bundesliga Süd. The focus of the department is on youth support.[240][241]
Hüetlin, Thomas:Gute Freunde. Die wahre Geschichte des FC Bayern München. Blessing, München 2006.ISBN3-89667-254-1.
Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich:Der FC Bayern und seine Juden. Aufstieg und Zerschlagung einer liberalen Fußballkultur. Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2011.ISBN978-3-89533-781-9.[242]
Bausenwein, Christoph, Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich:FC Bayern München. Unser Verein, unsere Geschichte. Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2012.ISBN978-3-89533-894-6.
^abcSchulze-Marmeling, Dietrich (2003).Die Bayern. Die Geschichte des deutschen Rekordmeisters (in German). Die Werkstatt. pp. 17–33.ISBN3-89533-426-X.
^"A look at why Bayern Munich are the world's best-supported club as they move past 400,000 members".bundesliga.de.Frankfurt am Main: DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH. 27 February 2025. Retrieved30 March 2025.Bayern, Germany's record champions, are celebrating their 125th anniversary. Alongside that landmark, they also now boast 400,000 registered members, which makes them the best-supported club in the world by that measure, outstripping fellow European juggernauts Benfica.
^ab"Other Sports". FC Bayern Munich Official Website. 2007. Archived fromthe original on 15 August 2008. Retrieved3 July 2008.
^Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich (2003).Die Bayern. Die Geschichte des deutschen Rekordmeisters (in German). Die Werkstatt. pp. 30–40.ISBN3-89533-426-X.
^abKwolek, Sarah-Luisa (13 July 2016)."Von Beginn an erfolgreich".FC Bayern München (in German).Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved3 February 2019.
^Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich (2003).Die Bayern. Die Geschichte des deutschen Rekordmeisters (in German). Die Werkstatt. pp. 51–63.ISBN3-89533-426-X.
^Faller, Heike (28 May 2003)."Onkel Kurt und die Bayern".Die Zeit (in German).Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved16 October 2014.
^Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich (2003).Die Bayern. Die Geschichte des deutschen Rekordmeisters (in German). Die Werkstatt. pp. 101–2.ISBN3-89533-426-X.
^Hardy Grüne, Christian Karn: Das große Buch der deutschen Fußballvereine. AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 2009, p. 364, 414.
^Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich (2003).Die Bayern. Die Geschichte des deutschen Rekordmeisters (in German). Die Werkstatt. p. 134.ISBN3-89533-426-X.
^Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich (2003).Die Bayern. Die Geschichte des deutschen Rekordmeisters (in German). Die Werkstatt. pp. 155–158.ISBN3-89533-426-X.
^Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich (2003).Die Bayern. Die Geschichte des deutschen Rekordmeisters (in German). Die Werkstatt. pp. 165–171.ISBN3-89533-426-X.
^"1966 bis 1979: Goldene Jahre" [1966 to 1979: Golden Years] (in German). FC Bayern Erlebniswelt.Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved28 September 2014.
^"Bayern chief defends club's transfer policy".ESPN.com. 11 September 2014. Retrieved12 January 2025.Hopfner, who has worked at Bayern in various positions since 1983, succeeded Uli Hoeness as president after he was imprisoned following his tax evasion trial earlier this year. The 62-year-old was elected into the role in May, and on Monday he was chosen as the club's new chairman of the supervisory board until the end of 2015.
^Raimund Simmet, Dietrich (2021).Alle Bayern-Trikots - von 1900 bis heute (in German). Die Werkstatt. p. 22.ISBN978-3-7307-0561-2.
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^Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich (2003).Die Bayern. Die Geschichte des deutschen Rekordmeisters (in German). Die Werkstatt. pp. 453–455.ISBN3-89533-426-X.
^Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich (2003).Die Bayern. Die Geschichte des deutschen Rekordmeisters (in German). Die Werkstatt. p. 122.ISBN3-89533-426-X.
^"Das Grünwalder Stadion" (in German). FC Bayern Munich Official Website. 2005. Archived fromthe original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved11 August 2008.
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^"Schiedsrichter" [Referees].fcbayern.com (in German). FC Bayern München. 2017.Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved26 February 2017.
^"Basketball".fcbayern.com (in German). FC Bayern München. 2017.Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved26 February 2017.
^"Startseite – FC Bayern Basketball" [Homepage – FC Bayern Basketball].fcb-basketball.de (in German). FC Bayern München. 2017.Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved26 February 2017.
^"Sportkegeln" [Bowling].fcbayern.com (in German). FC Bayern München. 2017.Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved26 February 2017.
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^Vgl. Markwart Herzog:Fußball unterm HakenkreuzArchived 28 October 2014 at theWayback Machine. In:H-Soz-u-Kult, 15. Juni 2011 (Sammelrezension zu: Backes, Gregor:"Mit Deutschem Sportgruss, Heil Hitler". Der FC St. Pauli im Nationalsozialismus. Hamburg 2010/Dietrich Schulze-Marmeling:Der FC Bayern und seine Juden. Aufstieg und Zerschlagung einer liberalen Fußballkultur. Göttingen 2011/Jakob Rosenberg u. a. (Hrsg.):Grün-Weiß unterm Hakenkreuz. Der Sportklub Rapid im Nationalsozialismus (1938–1945). Wien 2011)
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