Bayern Munich Finances 2022/23

Cash Machine

Bayern Munich supporters would have experienced a strange sensation last season, as they finished third in the Bundesliga behind Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart, having won the German league title for the previous 11 years.

Truth be told, they should probably have also finished behind Borussia Dortmund in 2022/23, as they only won the league on goal difference, after their rivals failed to beat Mainz at home on the last day of the season.

Although this was still a decent result by the standards of most teams, it was clearly insufficient for Bayern, as explained by their stalwart Thomas Müller, “Winning is not enough, you also have to dominate.”

Managers

The board’s unhappiness led to the club replacing head coach Julian Nagelsmann in February 2023 with Thomas Tuchel, who left at the end of last season, a year before the end of his contract, as part of a “a sporting realignment” at Bayern.

After conducting a lengthy recruitment process, when the club spoke to Xabi Alonso and Ralf Rangnick, unsuccessfully approached Oliver Glasner, and even dallied with asking Hansi Flick and Nagelsmann to return, Bayern have surprised the football world by appointing Vincent Kompany.

The former Belgian international had just led Burnley to relegation from the Premier League, while it is fair to say that he has no experience of managing a club as big as Bayern.

It is to be hoped that Bayern’s gamble works out, as the former Belgian international is their fifth head coach in only six years, especially as the club had to pay Burnley a chunky €12m in compensation.

Squad Changes

However, it is unlikely to be easy for Kompany, as there will be a fair bit of change in the squad with a number of players expected to leave, who will need to be replaced.

Indeed, the club has just confirmed the signing of exciting winger Michael Olise from Crystal Palace, while Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha is also poised to arrive and they are also very interested in Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah.

Financial Position

In contrast to their stuttering form on the pitch, Bayern’s finances remain rock solid and have arguably never been stronger, as can be seen by a look at their latest published accounts for the 2022/23 season.

Nevertheless, let’s take a deep dive into Bayern’s financial position to see if there are any chinks in their armour.

Profit/(Loss) 2022/23

Bayern’s CFO Michael Diederich described 2022/23 as “a challenging year”, but the club still managed to more than triple pre-tax profit from €17.1m to €54.5m, as recurring revenue rose €90m (14%) from €654m to a club record €744m and profit from player sales shot up from just €7m to €104m.

This was partially offset by sizeable growth in operating expenses, which climbed €153m (24%) from €642m to €795m.

Profit after tax was also up, rising from €12.7m to €35.7m.

The removal of COVID restrictions, which were still partially in force in 2021/22, led to a large increase in match day, which rose €53m (77%) from €68m to €121m. This factor also helped drive growth in commercial, up €41m (11%) from €378m to €419m. Both of these were new highs for Bayern.

However, broadcasting fell slightly, down €3m (2%) from €207m to €204m.

As a technical aside, Bayern’s definition of revenue also includes income from player sales, which rose €98m from €12m to €110m. As a result, total revenue surged by a very impressive €188m (28%) from €666m to €854m.

With some justification, Diederich described the record sales as “an extraordinary achievement”.

Investment in the squad led to significant growth in staff costs, as wages rose €67m (19%) from €349m to €416m, while player amortisation increased €23m (26%) from €88m to €111m. In addition, other expenses were up by more than a third, rising €64m from €181m to €245m.

Bayern’s €54m pre-tax profit was the best in the Bundesliga in 2022/23, almost twice as much as the closest challenger, Freiburg €28m.