Thomas Muller to leave Bayern Munich at end of season

Munich, April 4 (IANS) German forward Thomas Muller confirmed on Saturday that he will leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season.

Bavaria-born Muller joined the FC Bayern academy at the age of 10 in summer 2000, underwent an unparalleled development, made history with the club, won everything there is to win and has become the club’s record appearance maker with a total of 743 competitive matches.

"The German record champions will honour Muller’s magnificent career with, among other things, his own testimonial. It’s also been agreed that the two-time treble winner and world champion will play his final games for Bayern at the FIFA Club World Cup, which takes place in the USA from June 15 to July 13," Bayern Munich said in a statement.

Muller made his professional debut for Bayern on August 15, 2008 in a 2-2 draw against Hamburger SV. Since then he’s won 12 Bundesliga titles, the DFB Cup six times, the Champions League twice, the Club World Cup twice, the European Super Cup twice and the German Supercup eight times.

In September, the attacker overtook Munich goalkeeping icon Sepp Maier as the Reds’ record appearance maker and is currently on 743 competitive appearances, in which he’s registered 247 goals and 273 assists. He scored 45 goals in 131 games for the German national team from 2010 to 2024, winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He won the Golden Boot as the joint top goalscorer at his debut World Cup in 2010 and also took part in the tournaments in 2018 and 2022 as well as the European Championships in 2012, 2016, 2021 and 2024.

“It’s clear that today is not like any other day for me. My 25 years as an FC Bayern Munich player will come to an end in the summer. It’s been an incredible journey, shaped by unique experiences, great encounters and unforgettable triumphs," Muller said.

"I feel immense gratitude and joy that I got to make this career with my beloved club. The special connection to the club and our fantastic fans will always remain. What I want as a farewell should be clear: titles we can celebrate together, and moments we’ll remember fondly for a long time. We’re going to give our all in the coming weeks to bring the league title back to Munich and reach our coveted ‘Finale Dahoam’. Let’s do it together!”

The club president Herbert Hainer said, “Thomas Muller is the definition of a Bavarian fairytale career; he grew in Bavaria and with Bayern. From Ammersee to the Allianz Arena, as far as Asia and America. Nobody has won more Bundesliga titles, and 33 trophies in total so far speak volumes. He ranks among the most outstanding personalities in FC Bayern history.”

--IANS

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