It’s time to lay out how the BFW staffers are feeling…
Thomas Müller is one of the most legendary and impactful figures in the history of Bayern Munich.
The superstar will leave the club after this season in a controversial fashion after not being offered a contract extension from Bayern Munich. As he seeks to finish out the season and hopefully help Bayern Munich win more titles, the BFW staff put together our thoughts on the situation, this tumultuous week, and how things might not really ever be viewed the same for some fans…
CSmith
If you have been listening to Bavarian Podcast Works, I have been talking about Thomas Müller’s controversial exit from the club all week, so I won’t rehash all of my thoughts. I will say this, though, the situation was ham-handed at best and completely fumbled throughout the week.
Bayern Munich needs to be better than this and Müller absolutely deserved better than this. I will always be hung up on the part of this story where Bayern Munich did not even try to work something out with Müller and give him the one last year he desired (at a mutually agreed upon, fair price). For a normal player, it is just the normal course of doing business, but for a club legend…it was a horrible look.
Every player has an expiration date (and Müller is certainly nearing his), but Müller deserved his victory lap, his final season where fans could show appreciation and give proper thanks for a career filled with trophies and good times. Now, Bayern Munich is left with mud on its face for how it was all handled.
Getting past all of that, it is time to celebrate Müller’s career, his achievements, and the memories he created at Bayern Munich. Sure, there is still a little bit more time to soak it all in, but it can be tough for a lot of fans to know that it will never be the same in just a few months.
LoneStar249
At this point, it is unlikely that anyone would agree that the Müller situation has been handled properly. There was still potential for a fairy tale ending with Müller wearing the captain’s badge while hoisting the Champions League trophy for a third time in his home stadium. However, with half of Bayern’s starting lineup essentially out for the year, this seems like a pipe dream.
I would even be content with Bayern celebrating the Bundesliga title at home against Gladbach on May 10th, letting Müller start and sub out to a standing ovation in front of the Bayern faithful. That was ruined with Müller extending his contract for a month to play in the Club World Cup.
I firmly believe it would be best for Müller to join Germany’s coaching staff for the next year leading into the 2026 World Cup. The tabloid tea leaves indicate that MLS is the most likely option.
When I look back on Müller’s illustrious career, I doubt that I will even remember or care about his exit. I will remember him obliterating Brazil in 2014. I will remember him screaming at the top of his lungs after every goal, whether he scored, assisted, or ran from the bench. I will remember him for the Bayern legend that he was, not the current version that is limping across the finish line.
RIPLT
This is probably the worst way to send off (force out) your most successful and most loyal player of the modern era. If the board’s intention was to reduce the wage bill, why did they decide that Müller should be sacrificed? There are literally high-earning traffic cones who contribute a lot, lot less than Müller. Think of it this way: Müller, even without G/A, still has better impact on the team better than said traffic cones (you can figure out for yourselves who they are), yet these traffic cones who should’ve left the club ages ago are leeching off the wages for doing absolutely NOTHING. That’s what infuriates me about the whole thing.
That said, let’s look back at the illustrious career that the Raumdeuter had. A local boy winning everything with his dream club is a path that most fans will die for. Countless local, European, and intercontinental trophies. There’s no other way to put it: he has won them all. On and off the pitch, there will never be another one like the lad from Wilhelm in Oberbayern. Thank you for everything, Thomas. You deserved better than this.
zippy
Thomas Müller didn’t deserve this.
The Raumdeuter was a good soldier to the very end, rallying the fans and his teammates in times of difficulty…always striking the right tone, and never complaining about his station. His leadership qualities were reason alone to keep him, and I suspect that the first time in a generation Bayern hits bumpy waters without him — the grizzled and respected veteran, the throwback, the ultimate in “they don’t make ‘em like that anymore” — we’ll all miss him and how easily we once all rallied around him.
I sympathize with the club from the sporting perspective. Müller hasn’t played that much this season and has starred even less, trends which were likely to continue. He occupies a spot on the roster and on the wage bill at a position group that is both flush with bodies and must get younger.
But the manner of his departure is just hard to take. While Müller himself is carrying on through his disappointment with all the grace and decorum with which he has always worn the Bayern crest, as a fan, I’m still processing what has happened and how it came to this.
I’ll miss everything about the Müller era. The indomitable World Cup scoring runs, the Champions League demolitions of FC Barcelona, and Meisterschale after Meisterschale. The unorthodox goals, the unpredictable passes, the goofiness of it all. Thomas Müller was, is, everything I love about the sport of football.
Stay zany Thomas, and know that you’re appreciated.
Frank
Yeah, this was not how to pull off the exit of a legend. There is always the question of how to send your legendary players off in the best manner possible and it is never easy to get just right. But this was clearly not it. Let us sum up the issues:
- Bayern initially communicated that the decision was in Müller’s hands, only to reverse that decision by the time Müller had decided to stay
- Bayern did not even make Müller an offer to remain at the club; even preliminary efforts to secure a less expensive contract should have been made
- IT GOT LEAKED. The fact that it all came out before the decision was made ensured everything was a thousand times more difficult than it had to be. This is Nagelsmann’s sacking all over again.
Clearly, this was an absolute mess. But consider this:
Say Bayern did, in fact, end up clearly communicating their indecision to Müller, attempted to negotiate a new contract with him and acted like a competent club by not letting things leak out to the media. Would it still have been wrong for Bayern to end negotiations if they could not find a middle ground? Müller is not stupid and he knows that the club is eternally competitive and that the highest standards are expected from every player. He also knows that if he cannot justify his spot in the team with his current performances, his legend status will not do it for him.
Does Müller justify his spot in the team? Müller thinks he does. The board does not. I’m still rather unsure, but I would be worried about his level in 2026 if he were to renew. All in all, I just wish the club had not handled this so poorly. Hopefully, this exit will be quickly forgotten, to be no more than a mere footnote in Müller’s grandiose history at Bayern.
Muller_Era
Thomas Müller leaving is something I still haven’t come to terms with.
Perhaps, it is because of the fact that when I started watching Bayern and Thomas, it was almost the most natural conclusion that this man would never leave or be made to leave, until of course, he felt the need to hang his boots up.
Or maybe, it is because his playstyle has become so integral to the classical Bayern game.
Or could it be because my first exposure to football was the World Cup and Germany was the team I was acquainted with the earliest?
I don’t know.
I am stuck in this limbo state where I know it is happening, but it still doesn’t feel real. Of course, I’m describing good ol’ denial and that means, I will inevitably go through the seven stages. Or not. Am I meant to get stuck midway through this process?
I’m not big on emotions. The last time I cried for football was the Thomas documentary. As I clutch my only Thomas Müller jersey and write these words, my sight blurs. Not ready to shed tears yet, for the denial holds them back.
Thomas Müller is the reason I am who I am. I took to Bayern when I was my most fragile and the club took me up with open arms. I’ve learnt life through Thomas. The little things his game, career and life have taught me have shaped me into the person I am today.
I feel Bayern without Thomas is like the human body with a spleen. Surely, the body can survive without the spleen. However, the onslaught of infections and bleeding diathesis that the spleen’s absence will bring the body mean something right?
Perhaps, I’ll have more to say when I have processed this fully. But that time isn’t here yet.
Samrin
At first, I was in disbelief. I could not believe it and thought that, at any moment, someone would deny the rumors. But, the German newspapers are correct more often than they are given credit for. And they were right this time too. I think I finally broke when I saw the Bundesliga YouTube channel release a video about him. I watched it and somewhere along the way, started crying.
Because Thomas Müller is not just Mr. Bayern to me. He is a consistency in life like no other. For the past 17 years, no matter what, I expected Müller to be in the Bayern squad for the following season. And suddenly, abruptly, Müller and the Bayern fan base found out that this will no longer be the case.
My heart is in pieces. I felt a sadness similar to when I wrote about Bastian Schweinsteiger’s departure, similar to when Philipp Lahm retired, similar to when Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben called time on their careers at Bayern. I loved Mark Van Bommel and his departure was not easy either. But this sadness runs deeper. It runs deeper because an illustrious career has been hamstrung by various coaches who thought they knew better than Mr. Bayern himself. They never managed to outlast him. But it seems Vincent Kompany will outlast him and only because of Father Time.
In a way, Müller always got the last word. The magic of Müller is that he has been able to withstand any force that tried to disconnect him with Bayern. Finally, the Bavarian born and bred Müller lost the battle. Yet, in a way he won. He took his exit graciously while the club looked like absolute fools in its handling of the situation.
There will never be another Thomas Müller. And for fans like me who watched him from his debut up to now, it has been quite the ride. Bayern without Müller will not be the same. And as he walks out, he takes Mia San Mia and Mia San Familie with him while Bayern Munich itself feels like a club with a lot of soul searching left to do: is Bayern simply a business? Or is it a family first and a business second? Bayern’s image might need some work. They should not expect Müller to pick up the slack.
Ultimately, Müller loves this club as much as, if not more than, the fans do. He might be performing miracles on the pitch but he feels like he is a representative of the Südkurve. Bayern on the pitch might not have a place for him; but the Südkurve and so many Bayern fans around the world always will.
Dasher
I’ve made my opinion on this matter clear.
To summarize: Do I think Thomas Müller shouldn’t play at the club any longer? No. Do I understand why the club might want to let him go? Just slightly. But the way things went down? Absolute disgrace.
There is, however, one thing worth saying about how Müller handled this situation. With a final statement that oozes class like none other despite being subject to the deepest of disrespect in a manner that couldn’t be any less than heartbreaking, Müller reminds fans that he is one of us. The club can take away his contract, but they cannot take away his love for the club, the love that came through as he smiled, holding the jersey signifying him extending his final month at the club (a symbol of discourtesy, considering how things went down). The same smile that has been impossible to rub off his face for the last 17 years. And the same smile that hopefully shall be seen again at Säbener Straße, soon.
Yes, it will be his final summer here. But let this be a reminder: you cannot take away FC Bayern from Thomas Müller. Let’s give the legend of legends the farewell he deserves.
Drop your thoughts in the comments section on the matter below!
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