FC Bayern Munich has clinched its 35th Bundesliga title-but, unusually, the club marked the occasion without the traditional Meisterschale trophy. Once again, the Bavarians are defying convention

Although FC Bayern Munich’s 4-2 win over VfB Stuttgart on Sunday, matchday 30, clinched their 35th Bundesliga title, the players and staff have not yet received the league trophy. Instead, they were presented with a special alternative trophy.

The Bayern players reacted with subdued celebrations at the final whistle, giving the impression that their 35th Bundesliga title victory was merely a stepping stone, with further decisive clashes still to come this season.

FBL-GER-BUNDESLIGA-BAYERN MUNICH-STUTTGART

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When the championship shirts were handed out to the squad and the back-room staff, smiles broke out. The white jersey featured a cockatoo in the classic Bayern strip—red with white sleeves, just as the purists prefer. The bird held the championship trophy; nothing else. No “35”, no “German champions”, no “Forever Number 1”, no explanation needed.

No explanation needed: any Bayern player or fan with a memory stretching back to last May would instantly get the inside joke. Eventually the bird itself reappeared; Leon Goretzka held aloft the porcelain cockatoo that has been part of the German record champions’ trophy room since their first title celebration with Vincent Kompany.

Kakadu

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FCB: League champions without the traditional trophy, yet with a unique award.

For those who aren’t Bayern Munich supporters or whose memory has been overwhelmed by AI-driven information overload: during the club’s official title celebrations on 10 May 2025, manager Vincent Kompany suddenly placed a white porcelain cockatoo on the podium to amuse his players.

It later emerged that Bayern had removed the bird from the upmarket restaurant Käfer the week before. There, the Munich side had effectively clinched the title at the bar after a 2-2 draw between their closest rivals, Bayer Leverkusen, and SC Freiburg, and had celebrated the milestone in the restaurant. Someone then took the bird with them, and the “kidnapped” talisman travelled with the squad to the Club World Cup. Käfer owner Michael Käfer later gifted the team the €1,000 bird, and it even travelled to the Club World Cup.

At the Club World Cup it remained locked in a case, but now the bird is back on centre stage—and if Bayern have their way, it will not be the last appearance this season.