Franck Ribery has been a key player in Bayern Munich's domestic and European success. The France international winger, who was shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or, attracted the attention of major rivals after his first season in Germany.
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(CNN) -- When Karl-Heinz Rummenigge speaks, you listen.
And his advice, if you want to be the best club in the world, is: Never, ever sell your best players.
"I believe a very important point in our history came in 2008," Rummenigge, a legend in German football and executive board chairman of the all-conquering Bayern Munich, told CNN.
"We received big offers from England and Spain for the transfer of Franck Ribery to big clubs and we decided not to accept," added the 58-year-old, referring to an official bid from Chelsea and an inquiry from Real Madrid for the player who had cost Bayern $40 million in 2007.
"That was very important. I believe because from that point onwards all clubs in Europe understood that Bayern Munich was not a selling club. It's a buying club and that's it."
Rummenigge is all too conscious that it could have been so very different for his beloved Bayern, where he spent the first decade of his senior playing career and won numerous honors.
Back in 2004, the Bavarians finished second in the German Bundesliga behind Werder Bremen and were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the last-16 by Real Madrid.
Not since 2001 had Bayern lifted Europe's most coveted trophy, as teams from the English Premier League, Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga dominated.
For a club that enjoyed such glorious years in European Cup football between 1974-76, winning the title on three consecutive occasions, the prospect of being left behind by the continent's elite was frightening.
Rummenigge -- who played in the 1976 success and was an unused substitute in the previous year's final -- was all too aware of Bayern's precarious position.
It wasn't just the interest other more avaricious clubs had in Bayern's leading players; the new money flooding into European football also potentially threatened the Germans' status.
"About 10 years ago I thought we had no chance when gentlemen from Russia and from the Arab countries came into the business," said Rummenigge, referring to the various takeovers of major European clubs by Middle East groups and also Roman Abramovich's investment in England's Chelsea.
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"Then we found a very good philosophy at the club -- being a bit patient, and buying good players.
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"The story began in 2007 when we bought Ribery, Luca Toni ... and we continue this story to today."
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A buying club indeed -- Bayern has become a European power to rival Barcelona and Real Madrid by attracting some of the world's top players.
That it is able to do so owes much to the commercial model Rummenigge has created along with club president Uli Hoeness.
Helped by the presence of so many of its great players on the board, Bayern is a club which understands not just what happens on the pitch, but off it too.
According to the Deloitte money report, Bayern is the third richest club in the world, with its revenue growing by 17% over the past year to $592 million.
It is the first time in 11 years that Bayern has been in the top three of the Money League and comes following a Champions League triumph from which it gained a 31% increase in broadcast revenue.
Its average home attendances of 71,000 led to matchday revenue of $4.6 million -- more than any other Bundesliga club and less than only four others in Europe.
Commercial revenue, merchandise, sponsorship and advertising have all increased markedly, while deals with partners have also boosted the coffers.
Extensions to deals with Coca-Cola and Lufthansa, on top of the club's longstanding partnerships with Adidas and Allianz, which holds the naming rights to the stadium, have put Bayern miles ahead of its domestic rivals.
That is part of the reason why it has been able to raid the likes of Borussia Dortmund for talents such as Mario Gotze, who joined at the start of this season, and Robert Lewandowski, who will arrive in Munich when it finishes.
"That is not our will," Rummenigge says when asked about poaching from rival clubs.
"Our will is where you find the best players in the German Bundesliga. In England it's not different that the big clubs like Chelsea, Manchester United are interested especially in players from Arsenal, from Liverpool and so on. I believe that is the normality of the business."
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Such is the talent at Bayern that Pep Guardiola, who took over from treble-winning coach Jupp Heynckes at the end of last season, was able to name Germany internationals such as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thomas Muller as substitutes for last week's 2-0 win at Arsenal in the Champions League.
Already 19 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, unbeaten in 47 league games, Bayern looks set to win a record 24th championship without much hassle.
Arjen Robben celebrates after scoring Bayern Munich's third in the 5-0 rout of Eintracht Frankfurt at the Allianz Arena.
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For the ninth straight year Real Madrid are ranked as the world's richest club with a total revenue of $702 million. Their global reach allows the Spanish club to make millions in commercial revenue, both domestically and internationally, thanks to marketable stars like Cristiano Ronaldo -- recently crowned the world's best player.
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Mesut Ozil wasted a glorious opportunity to give Arsenal an early lead after his penalty was saved by Bayern Munich keeper Manuel Neuer.
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Sunday's 4-0 victory over Hannover -- its 14th successive league win -- means only an absolute disaster can prevent Bayern from coasting to a successful title defense, making Dortmund's two-season reign seem long ago.
Even more impressive is that Bayern's fans can enjoy this success while paying prices which English Premier League counterparts could only dream of.
Bayern's 225,000 members hold an 82% share of the club, and Rumenigge has made football accessible to all supporters with some season tickets available for just over $200.
Indeed, the low-cost deals offered by all Bundesliga teams are the envy of many within the European game.
Bayern, the 2013 Club World Cup champion, is seeking to extend its dominance and will reportedly open the club's first overseas office in New York from April 1 to help break into the North American market.
Guardiola's team will begin a U.S. tour in late July, including a match against the Major League Soccer All-Star lineup.
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Under the guidance of the Spaniard, the possibilities appear endless for Bayern -- a heavy favorite to become the first team to retain the European title since the advent of the Champions League in 1992.
It makes Bayern's acquisition of the former Barcelona coach even more frightening for those who are trying to compete within the same sphere.
"From the very first meeting, I had a feeling that he was something special," Rummenigge said of Guardiola.
"He's different. Obsessed by football in a very, very nice and good way. When I talked to our players six months ago they said this guy doesn't stop our success story. This guy brings us ahead."
If they move any further ahead, then the others will only look on with fear.
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Executive board chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge believes Bayern's ability to keep hold of its best players has helped the Bundesliga champion to become one of the most successful clubs in Europe.
Pep Guardiola, who won 14 trophies with Barcelona between 2008-12, was the man charged with taking Bayern to the next step after Jupp Heynckes' treble-winning exploits last season.
Bayern is on course to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Champions League following the first-leg 2-0 win over Arsenal. It is unbeaten in 47 Bundesliga matches and sits 19 points clear at the top of the table.
Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski will join Bayern at the end of this season. The Poland international is one of the most prolific finishers in the game and follows in the footsteps of former teammate Mario Gotze, who made the same move last year.
In Germany, the "50 + 1" rule means the association or club has to have a controlling stake, so commercial interests can't gain control. While Audi and Adidas own 9% each in Bayern, its 225,000 members have the remaining 82%.
No team has ever successfully defended the UEFA Champions League title, but Bayern -- which beat Dortmund in last year's all-German final in London -- is a big favorite to become the first.
Bayern's 71,000-capacity Allianz Arena hosted the 2012 Champions League final, where Heynckes' team lost to Chelsea on penalties -- completing a hat-trick of runner-up finishes that season.
Thiago Alcantara makes one of his Bundesliga record 185 touches in the comprehensive victory for Bayern.
Thiago congratulates defender Dante after he scored Bayern's fourth goal in the victory over Frankfurt.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored a second half double as Arsenal went back to the top of the English Premier League in beating Crystal Palace 2-0.
Barcelona are second in the list, $47 million behind Real, and can also generate huge sums commercially on the back of players like Lionel Messi. The Argentina striker is their talisman and has helped them to win the Spanish league title four times in the last five years.
No-one could hold a candle to Bayern Munich in terms of silverware in 2013, the German champions winning an incredible five titles, including the European Champions League. They have usurped Manchester United in third spot and recorded a 17% growth in revenue to hit $585m.
English champions Manchester United fell to fourth in the money list -- the first time they've been outside the top three in 17 years. Despite revenue growing to $574 million they were overtaken by Bayern, and fortunes on the pitch have wavered since former manager Alex Ferguson left the club in May after 27 years at the helm.
The stature of French champions Paris Saint-Germain as a European force under their Qatari owners was evidenced by their ability to attract big stars like Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. They nudged their way into the top five after almost quadrupling their revenue since the 2010/11 season -- the highest ever placing by a French side.
Manchester City leapfrogged Arsenal and Chelsea to become the second richest English Premier League club in the list. City, owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan from Abu Dhabi, saw their total revenue rise to $428.3 million.
Chelsea, led by Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho, drop two places to seventh in the 2014 list. Backed by Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, the London club actually saw a drop in revenue, from $437 million to $411 million.
Arsenal currently sit top of the English Premier League as they go in search of a first trophy since 2005. They flexed their muscles in the transfer market with the purchase of Germany international Mesut Ozil, at a cost of $70 million and saw a small drop in revenue, to $385m.
Juventus have cemented their place as the dominant force in Italian football by winning the last two Serie A titles. Their move to a new stadium in 2011 helped boost revenue and they made the most money out of the European Champions League in 2013 despite only reaching the quarterfinals. They saw a big rise in total revenue to $369 million.
AC Milan, who can boast star names like Italy striker Mario Balotelli among their ranks, dropped two places to tenth in Deloitte's list after a modest rise in revenue saw them record $357m overall.
Borussia Dortmund -- champions of Germany in 2011 and 2012 -- lost to Bayern Munich in the European Champions League final in May last year and are set to lose star striker Robert Lewandowski to their rivals at the end of this season. They saw a significant hike in revenue up from $266.4 million to $347.1 million.
English club Liverpool, led by Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, dropped out of the top ten for the first time since 1999/2000 despite seeing a 9% rise in revenue to $325.9 million. The club haven't qualified for the lucrative European Champions League since 2009.
German club Schalke move up two places from last year's list, after their revenue went up to 268.5 million.
Tottenham Hotspur are the sixth English Premier League club to feature in Deloitte's list. They stay in 15th spot with a revenue of $233 million.
Italian giants Inter haven't secured any silverware since 2011 and they drop four places from last year's rich list. Revenue fell by $43 million to $228.6 million overall.
Turkish champions Galatasaray move up three places from the 2013 list after revenue rose to $212.6 million. The Istanbul-based outfit have Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba and Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder in their ranks and will face Chelsea -- with whom Drogba won the 2012 European Champions League crown -- in the last 16 of the competition.
Hamburg are the fourth German team in the list. They moved up three places with a revenue of $183.4 million.
Fenerbahce join fellow Turkish side Galatatsaray in the top 20, making it the first time since 2005/06 that two clubs outside the recognized top five in Europe -- Spain, Italy, Germany, England and France -- have appeared. Their revenue grew to $171.2 million.
Italian club Roma, led by their talisman Francesco Totti, are another new entry to the list thanks to revenue of $168.5 million.
Atletico Madrid, city rivals to Real, are currently second in the La Liga table behind Barcelona -- largely thanks to the goalscoring exploits of Diego Costa. They are another new entry to round off the list but trail way behind Real in terms of revenue, on the comparatively modest figure of $162.5 million.
Bayern's David Alaba also missed from the penalty spot after Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny was shown a straight red card for a foul on Arjen Robben. Alaba could only hit the post as the teams went in goalless at the interval.
Toni Kroos produced a moment of magic to finally break the resistance of 10-man Arsenal with a stunning curling effort which flew into the top corner.
Thomas Muller headed home a late second to wrap up an impressive first leg victory at Emirates Stadium.
Diego Costa headed home an 83rd minute winner as Atletico Madrid claimed a 1-0 victory at AC Milan.
