Thomas Müller is Bayern Munich’s all-time appearance leader with no less than 756 competitive outings for the club.
With the team’s exit from the Club World Cup, it was Müller’s last appearance for the Bavarian giants.
Superior Statistics
His career is truly unique and one for the history books. Whether or not Thomas Müller continues to play elsewhere, he will always be remembered for his time wearing the red and white of the Bavarians.
In the appearances he made for the club, he scored 250 goals, which puts him in third place all-time on the club’s scoring charts behind only Gerd Müller with 566 goals and Robert Lewandowski with 344 strikes.
Müller is the all-time leader in assists for Bayern, in terms of his time at the club, when this statistic was measured.
The 223 assists he has had in competitive games for the Bavarians are in fact the highest recorded number for the time since his first team debut in 2008 of any player in the top five leagues in Europe.
Beloved by the Fans
The club legend is beloved by the Bayern fans like few other players in the team’s iconic history.
Many see him as one of their own, someone from the region, who stayed true to their club for as long as they would have him.
For many supporters, the club’s decision not to renew Thomas Müller’s contract for another season, despite his wish to do so, was downright blasphemous.
Though from the club’s standpoint it is quite understandable when one thinks about it soberly.
Müller is 35 years old and all things must come to an end eventually. It is also questionable how much sense yet another season on the bench would have made for either the player or the club.
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Pivotal 2009/10 Season
Between winning the UEFA Champions League in May 2001 and reaching the final again no less than nine years later, Bayern Munich struggled to remain one of the heavyweights of European football in the early 21st century.
It wasn’t until Müller established himself in the first team in the 2009/10 season with the arrival of coach Louis van Gaal that those fortunes began to change for the better.
The highlight of that first of what would be four trips to the Champions League final (two of them ending with the trophy) during Müller’s time, undoubtedly was the elimination of Manchester United in the quarter-finals.
After a last-gasp 2-1 win in the first leg at home, followed by a 3-2 away defeat at Old Trafford, it was enough to send the Bavarians through on away goals.
Though Inter Milan would ultimately prove too much of a hurdle for Van Gaal’s men in the final that year, the foundation was still laid for future success.
Müller’s Role
It was the pivotal season when Bayern signed Arjen Robben and changed its formation from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1. The system is still in place for the Bavarians.
Thomas Müller would thrive in it, as neither quite a number nine nor a real playmaking number 10 for over a decade.
But he was so much more than just a player for the club. He is the embodiment of its ideal: authentically and proudly Bavarian, yet at the same time, cosmopolitan and international.
Given that, he will certainly have a role in the club after his playing career is over.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / kolbert-press
Recording Date: 10.05.2025