By Fábio Bolla
O Bayern Munich It has reached that point where it is no longer enough to call it a giant of European football. The club became a reference for management, fan relations and brand building. Sincerely, always seems to be one step ahead of its competitors in the market. The most recent proof of this is that it overtook Benfica, from Portugal, and became the club with the most members in the world. A huge feat, but one that doesn’t surprise anyone who follows the way the Germans work.
Benfica held an impressive number for years: around 400 thousand members of your program. Bayern pulverized this brand. And it wasn’t about titles, because if it were just that, other clubs of the same size would be at the same level. The big difference is the management model. Borussia Dortmund, for example, has just over 200,000 members. A popular giant, with one of the most passionate fans in football. Even so, it is far behind its Munich rival. Not because of a lack of fans, but because of the way Bayern turns admirers into participants.
The heart of this strategy is governance. Members hold 75% control of the Bavarian club. This is not an administrative detail. It is a declaration of principles. In times of SAFs, investors and cabinet decisions, Bayern makes an almost romantic bet: keeping the fans in the room. And this generates something that no money can buy: involvement and belonging. When the club wins, the fans feel like they won together. When he loses, he feels like he lost with the team.
Attention to the fans
Engagement, there, is not an advertising campaign. It’s a real everyday thing. It’s the personalized card that arrives at the new member’s home. The welcome package that makes someone smile. It’s the discount that works and the event that really brings it closer. It’s the “Teens Club”, which shows young people that there is space for them in the community. There is no show. It has consistency. And consistency, in the end, builds loyalty more than any million-dollar share.
From Munich to the world
Of course, none of this can be sustained without a financial machine functioning at the highest level. In the 2024-25 season, Bayern Munich reached 978.3 million euros in revenue. It’s almost a municipal GDP. And most impressively: it maintained a profit. The logic is simple and powerful: a competitive club attracts more interest. More interest attracts more members. And more associates strengthen the brand, so a strong brand attracts more revenue and everything turns around again. There is no magic: there is method.
And the method includes looking outside. Bayern’s internationalization began long before “being global” became a trend. In the 2012-2013 season, the club created a department focused on Latin America to win over fans from countries that live football. like passion. As its squad included many players from the countries in question, management saw not only a revenue opportunity, but mainly a closer relationship between the brand and these fans.
Over the years, the plan continued, opening gyms, spreading official stores and encouraging fan clubs in the most unlikely places. It’s as if he were saying to the international fan: “You don’t need to come to Munich to be part of Bayern. Bayern comes to you.” This physical proximity, added to an efficient digital presence, creates a connection much deeper than simple numbers on social networks.
Ecosystem around the brand
It’s not just a marketing issue. It is an institutional stance. In a world where younger fans choose brands based on the values they carry, this makes a huge difference. That’s why Bayern became a reference. It’s not just about what wins, sells or produces. It’s because of the way the club thinks. For the way of building community. Because of the way we treat fans as an active part of the story. While many people still get lost discussing who has the most fans, Bayern Munich is discussing something much more valuable: who will walk with him in the future.
Worth a look
