Bayern smash membership and turnover records
Munich - Boasting a record 251,315 official members, FC Bayern München can now officially refer to themselves as 'the biggest club in the world'.
New heights
Club President Karl Hopfner revealed the startling new membership figure, which has seen the 24-time German champions overtake previous leaders SL Benfica (235,000 members), at Friday's Annual General Meeting at the Audi Dome in Munich. Bayern also posted an annual turnover of 528.7million Euro for 2013/14, their highest in 114 years.
"Bayern München can present to its members results that have never existed in the history of this club," said deputy CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen. "There is no doubt Bayern are both on a sporting level and financially at a stage they have never been before."
The club's turnover was up almost 100 million Euro from the historic treble-winning 2012/13 campaign (432.8m Euro), while post-tax profits have risen from 14m to 16.5m Euro. The news comes just a week after CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge announced that the club had paid off the cost of the Allianz Arena 16 years ahead of schedule.
In the black
The turnover of 528.7m Euro is the largest ever revealed by a German football club. Compared to last year, FC Bayern received 15.3m Euro more from sponsorship and marketing deals, whilst raking in an extra 22.4m and 39.6m Euro from merchandising and transfers respectively. Personnel costs were up by 39.5m Euro, however.
FC Bayern München AG also have 405m Euro of equity - a 41 per cent rise compared to last year's 286.8m Euro. "I'm really proud to work here," enthused head coach Pep Guardiola. "It's good to have stability."
