Bayern Munich

Lore & Background

Bayern Munich was founded in 1900 by eleven players, led by Franz John. Although Bayern won its first national championship in 1932, the club was not selected for the Bundesliga during its inception in 1963. The club found success in the mid/late-1960s, but the pinnacle came in the 1970s under the captaincy of Franz Beckenbauer, as they won the European Cup three consecutive times (1974–1976). Overall, Bayern have won six European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles (a German record), winning their sixth title in the 2020 final as part of the Treble, and it became the second European club to achieve this feat twice. Furthermore, the club is one of five teams that have earned the right to keep the trophy and to wear a multiple-winner badge. The club has reached the final of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League 11 times, a joint second-most of any club in the history of the competition and is also second placed in numbers of semi-final appearances with 22. Bayern has also won one UEFA Cup, one European Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, two FIFA Club World Cups and two Intercontinental Cups, making it one of the most successful European clubs internationally, and the only German club to have won both international titles. Bayern players have accumulated five Ballon d'Or awards with multiple players coming in the second position in the award, two The Best FIFA Men's Player awards, six European Golden Shoe and three UEFA Men's Player of the Year awards, including UEFA Club Footballer of the Year. The club had at least one player in eleven consecutive FIFA World Cup finals from 1986 to 2022. By winning the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup, Bayern Munich became only the second club to win the 'sextuple' (winning the League, Cup, and Champions League in one season followed by the Domestic Supercup, UEFA Supercup and Club World Cup in the next season), or all trophies that a club can win in a calendar year. Bayern Munich is one of five clubs to have won all three of UEFA's main club competitions and the only German club to achieve that. The club has traditional local rivalries with 1860 Munich and 1. FC Nürnberg. The rivalry it has with Borussia Dortmund is known as Der Klassiker.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at the BayArena hummed with an electric tension as the final whistle approached. Bayern's attack pressed high, desperate for a late equalizer that would salvage points from the 'Zweite'. In the stands, Leverkusen fans held their breath, knowing that a single slip could surrender another dream to Munich. The ball was cleared, the roar of the crowd shaking the stadium foundations—a momentary victory in a war fought over decades.

Reader's Guide

Bayern Munich is one of the most widely supported football clubs in the world, and in November 2025, Bayern had more than 432,500 official club members, and 4,425 officially registered fan clubs, with over 328,564 members, making the club the largest sports club in the world by membership. The club has other departments for chess, handball, basketball, gymnastics, bowling, table tennis and senior football, with more than 1,500 active members. Since the beginning of the 2005–06 season, Bayern has played its home games at the Allianz Arena. Previously, the team had played at Munich's Olympiastadion for 33 years. The team colours are red and white, and the crest shows the white and blue flag of Bavaria. Bayern Munich has the largest revenue out of any German sports club and is one of the highest-earning football clubs in the world. Bayern earned a record breaking €978.3 million in the 2024–25 season.

Did You Know?

• Bayern Munich was founded in 1900 by eleven players, led by Franz John.
• Bayern have won six European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles, a German record.
• Bayern Munich became only the second club to win the 'sextuple' after winning the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup.
• The club had at least one player in eleven consecutive FIFA World Cup finals from 1986 to 2022.
• Bayern Munich is the only German club to have won all three of UEFA's main club competitions.