Philippe Coutinho signing strengthens Bayern Munich global brand, sets social media record
Bayern Munich have reasserted their global brand with a number of impressive summer signings - including Philippe Coutinho, whose arrival from Barcelona sent the club's social media accounts into overdrive.
#ServusCoutinho – was the hashtag Bayern used to welcome Coutinho to the Allianz Arena on Monday, 19 August.
A specially produced video, entitled 'Munich and FC Bayern say 'Servus', Coutinho', accompanied the official press release on fcbayern.com, smartphone apps and social media platforms as Germany's biggest club celebrated the arrival of one of the game's biggest stars.
Watch: Philippe Coutinho's official unveiling as a Bayern Munich player
Indeed, Monday was the most successful day for Bayern on social media since their accounts were opened, with over 100 million fans enjoying roughly 300 pieces of social media content published on channels such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The Instagram post which announced the season-long loan agreement between Bayern and Barcelona on 16 August, meanwhile, achieved a record 1.2 million likes.
Brazil international Coutinho represents Bayern's seventh senior team signing of the 2019 summer transfer window.
Ivan Perisic has also joined the club on a season-long loan (Inter Milan), while Benjamin Pavard (VfB Stuttgart) and Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid) - 2018 FIFA World Cup-winning teammates with France - have penned long-term deals.
The record champions have also added future investments Michael Cuisance (20, Borussia Mönchengladbach), Sarpreet Singh (20, Wellington Phoenix) and Fiete Arp (19, Hamburg) to their ranks.
Canada international Alphonso Davies, 18, officially made the switch to Munich in January of this year.
Bayern regularly tour North America and Asia, and rank as the best-supported club in the world by official club members, with no fewer than 290,000.
The number puts them over 100,000 clear of fellow European heavyweights Benfica and Barca.
Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund and Schalke - both with just over 150,000 members - complete the top 5.
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