Thomas Müller

Club career

Early career

Müller played as a youth for TSV Pähl, and at the age of 10 he made the 50-kilometre (31 mi) journey to join local Bundesliga side Bayern Munich in 2000. He progressed through the youth system and was part of the team that finished runner-up in the Under 19 Bundesliga in 2007. Growing up, his favorite player was Giovane Élber.

Bayern Munich

Müller made his debut for the reserve team in March 2008 when he replaced Stephan Fürstner in a Regionalliga match against SpVgg Unterhaching, in which he scored. He made two more Regionalliga appearances in the 2007–08 season, while continuing to play for the under-19 team. The following season, Bayern's second string qualified for the newly formed 3. Liga, and Müller established himself as a key player – he played in 32 out of 38 matches and scored 15 times to make him the league's fifth top scorer.

Müller became involved in the first-team under then manager Jürgen Klinsmann; he appeared in pre-season friendlies, and made his full debut on 15 August 2008, when he came on as a substitute for Miroslav Klose for the last ten minutes of a Bundesliga match against Hamburger SV. Despite Müller feeling that his performance did not go well, he made three more Bundesliga appearances that season and made his Champions League debut on 10 March 2009 when he was substituted on in the 72nd minute for Bastian Schweinsteiger in a 7–1 win over Sporting CP. He scored Bayern's last goal as they won the tie 12–1 on aggregate.

In February 2009, Müller signed his first contract for the senior team, a two-year deal effective from the 2009–10 season, along with reserve teammate Holger Badstuber.

Müller was prepared to be loaned or even transferred away to find first-team football, but when Louis van Gaal was appointed manager, both Müller and Badstuber became fixtures in the Bayern first team from the start of the season. In the first few matches, Müller was a regular substitute, and on 12 September 2009, he was brought on against Borussia Dortmund and scored two goals in a 5–1 victory. Three days later, he scored another brace in a 3–0 Champions League victory over Maccabi Haifa. He rounded off September by being named the Bundesliga Player of the Month and earned praise from his namesake, legendary former Bayern and Germany striker Gerd Müller. After the Haifa match, Müller was in the starting XI for almost every match, only missing one match, a Champions League match against Bordeaux, for which he was suspended, because he was sent off in an earlier match against the same team.

In February 2010, Müller signed a new contract with Bayern Munich through 2013. During the second half of the season, Müller continued to be a regular first-team starter, usually playing in a central striking role due to the availability of other wide players Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben. In April 2010, he scored the second goal in a 2–1 win against title rivals Schalke 04, and in the penultimate league match of the season, he scored the first hat-trick of his career, in a 3–1 win over VfL Bochum which effectively secured the German title for Bayern. The title was confirmed a week later with a 3–1 win at Hertha BSC, a match which Müller started.

Vancouver Whitecaps

On 6 August 2025, Müller joined Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps as a free agent, signing a contract for the remainder of the 2025 season, with a Designated Player option for 2026. He scored his first goal for the club, a second half stoppage-time penalty, in a 3–2 league home victory over St. Louis City on 23 August. On 13 September, on his 36th birthday, Müller scored a hat-trick in a 7–0 league home victory over Philadelphia Union. The Whitecaps played against neighbouring Vancouver FC in the final of the 2025 Canadian Championship on 1 October, claiming their fourth consecutive national title. Müller had a goal and an assist in the 4–2 victory, the goal being the 300th of his professional career. With his thirty-fifth trophy, he surpassed former teammate Toni Kroos as the most decorated German player. The Whitecaps finished fifth in the MLS regular season, before embarking on a deep run in the 2025 postseason. Starting with a 3–0 win over FC Dallas in the first leg of the first round, then drawing 1–1 in the second, winning on a Penalty Shootout 4–2 to win the best of three series. In the Conference Semi Finals the match was 2–2 in normal time vs Los Angeles FC and won in the Penalty shootout 4–3. With a victory over San Diego FC in the Western Conference final, the Whitecaps reached the MLS Cup for the first time in club history, in what was widely framed as a confrontation between Müller and Lionel Messi, the star of the opposing Inter Miami. Vancouver lost the final with a 1–3 score.

International career

Müller represented Germany at various youth levels, starting with the under-16s in 2004. In August 2009, he was called up to the under-21 team for his debut in a 3–1 friendly defeat against Turkey. He earned six caps for the under-21s and scored one goal, the eighth in an 11–0 thrashing of San Marino.

In October of the same year, Müller's regular appearances for Bayern's first team caused Germany national team manager Joachim Löw to publicly consider him for a call-up, despite initial reluctance from the Bayern Munich board; the following month, Müller was named in the squad for a friendly against the Ivory Coast. However, this coincided with the death of national team goalkeeper Robert Enke, which led to the cancellation of a match against Chile the same week. With less opportunity to try out new players, and with the under-21 team facing crucial qualifiers for the 2011 European Championship, Löw and under-21 manager Rainer Adrion felt that Müller was needed at the under-21 level, and Müller was called back into the under-21s.

He was back in the senior squad for its next get-together, a training session in Sindelfingen in January 2010, and was named in the squad for the following match, a friendly against Argentina in March. He made his debut in this game in the starting XI at the Allianz Arena, his home stadium with Bayern. He was substituted in the 66th minute for fellow debutant Toni Kroos as Germany lost 1–0.

2010 FIFA World Cup

Müller was named in Germany's provisional 27-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa along with seven other Bayern Munich players. Despite suffering a scare when he fell off his bicycle at the team's training camp in South Tyrol, Müller only received superficial injuries and made the final cut for the tournament when the squad was reduced to 23 players. He was allocated the number 13, normally worn by injured captain Michael Ballack, and previously worn by Müller's eponym Gerd Müller. He earned his second international cap in the final warm-up match before the World Cup when he came on as a half-time substitute for Piotr Trochowski in a 3–1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. He started the first game of Germany's World Cup campaign and scored the third goal – his first internationally – in a 4–0 win over Australia, winning Germany's goal of the month award in the process.

Müller played in all Germany's group games, as they finished top of Group D; he scored twice and assisted once in the 4–1 victory over England in the round of 16. In the third minute of Germany's 4–0 quarter-final win against Argentina, he opened the scoring with his fourth tournament goal. However, he picked up his second booking of the tournament in the first half, for a handball and was suspended for the semi-final defeat against Spain. Müller said that he felt far more nervous during the Spain game than any he was able to play. He returned to the team for the third-place playoff against Uruguay and scored the first goal, his fifth of the tournament, as Germany won 3–2 to take the bronze medals. The team's success was a culmination of a series of changes made after the national team's failure at Euro 2000. The Germans emphasized a more open, attack-minded style not previously associated with Germany, and included prominent young players, including Müller, Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil.

With five goals, Müller ended as joint top goalscorer of the tournament. He earned the Golden Boot with these goals and his three assists. He also won the Best Young Player Award over fellow nominees André Ayew of Ghana and Giovani dos Santos of Mexico. For both awards, he succeeded a German teammate, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, respectively, from 2006.

In October 2010, he was named on the shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d'Or award along with four of his Germany teammates. Reflecting on his World Cup success, Müller said "I basically got lucky, I hit form at just the right time".

UEFA Euro 2012

Müller started all ten of Germany's Euro 2012 qualifiers, as the team qualified for the finals with a 100% record. Müller provided assists for seven goals, three of which came in a 6–2 win over Austria in September 2011 which secured Germany's qualification for the finals with two games to spare. He scored three times in the campaign, two goals coming in a 4–0 win over Kazakhstan in March 2011, the third in a 3–1 win over Turkey in October of the same year.

Müller was included in Joachim Löw's squad for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, where the Germans were knocked out in the semi-finals by Italy.

2014 FIFA World Cup

Müller scored his first World Cup qualifying goals on 22 March 2013, getting Germany's opener and final goal in a 3–0 away win over Kazakhstan. He also scored in the 3–0 victories over Austria and the Faroe Islands to give him four goals in Germany's successful qualification campaign.

On 16 June 2014, in Germany's opening match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Müller scored the first hat-trick of the tournament and was named man of the match in a 4–0 win against Portugal. In addition, he was also the target of Pepe's headbutt in the 37th minute, which resulted in the Portuguese defender being sent off. He denied that he had "overplayed" the situation leading to the red card. On 26 June, Müller scored the only goal of the final group match against the United States to help the Germans win Group G and dispelled fear of collusion between German coach Joachim Löw and American coach Jürgen Klinsmann to play to a result that benefited both Germany and the US as had occurred in 1982.

On 8 July, Müller scored Germany's opening goal in their 7–1 semi-final defeat of Brazil. This was Germany's 2,000th goal in its history, and put Müller level with Helmut Rahn's tally of ten World Cup goals. Müller also became only the third player to score at least five goals in each of his first two World Cups (after Teófilo Cubillas and teammate Miroslav Klose).

On 11 July, Müller was named on the ten-man shortlist for FIFA's Golden Ball award for the tournament's best player. After playing all 120 minutes of Germany's final 1–0 victory against Argentina, Müller received the Silver Boot as the tournament's second-top goalscorer with five goals, and was also named in the World Cup All-Star XI, having played a major role in his team's World Cup triumph.

UEFA Euro 2016

Müller featured in nine of ten matches during Germany's qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 2016, scoring nine goals as Germany topped their qualifying group to qualify for Euro 2016.

Müller started in all six matches that Germany played at the finals in France. In their quarter-final match against Italy, Müller's shot was the first one to be saved in the penalty shoot-out during the tournament. This was also the first time Germany failed to score in a shoot-out since Uli Stielike missed in the 1982 World Cup. Germany would still end up winning the shoot-out 6–5, however. Müller's poor run of form throughout the tournament hindered Germany's chances, and they would be eliminated by hosts France in the semi-finals. Müller exited the competition without adding a goal to his name at the European Championship.

2018 FIFA World Cup

Müller was selected in Germany's final 23-man squad by manager Joachim Löw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Müller played in all three matches for Germany against Mexico, Sweden and South Korea. Müller started against Mexico and Sweden, but came on as a substitute against South Korea. Müller did not manage to score a goal as Germany crashed out of the World Cup at the group stage for the first time since 1938 following a shock loss to South Korea.

Exclusion from the national team

On 5 March 2019, national team coach Joachim Löw confirmed that he would plan without Müller for the foreseeable future, along with his club teammates Jérôme Boateng and Mats Hummels. Müller said after the decision that he was "angry and surprised" why Löw decided to drop him and his Bayern teammates. However, after Löw later admitted in March 2021 that he was considering reversing his decision and allowing the previously barred players to partake in the upcoming UEFA Euro 2020, Müller insisted he was "definitely ready" to return to international duty, stating his desire to win another title with Germany.

Return to the national team and UEFA Euro 2020

On 19 May 2021, Müller, along with Hummels, was included in Germany's final 26-man squad for the pan-European UEFA Euro 2020, ending a period of over two years of exclusion from the national team. In the round of 16, Müller missed a one-on-one chance against England when the score was 1–0 for the latter; however, England went on eventually to beat Germany 2–0. Hence, Müller played 15 matches in the European Championship without scoring any goals.

2022 FIFA World Cup

In November 2022, he was selected in the final squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Müller played in all three matches for Germany against Japan, Spain and Costa Rica, but failed to find the net as Germany were eliminated in the group stage for the second time in a row following an upset comeback loss to Japan, a stalemate against Spain, and a 4–2 win against Costa Rica that ultimately proved meaningless.

UEFA Euro 2024 and retirement

Müller was named in Germany's squad for UEFA Euro 2024 on home soil. In the team's opening match against Scotland on 14 June, he came on as a substitute for Jamal Musiala in the 74th minute and assisted Emre Can's fifth goal of the 5–1 win. He later featured as a substitute in the quarter-finals against Spain, which ended in a 2–1 defeat after extra time.

On 15 July 2024, Müller announced his retirement from international football. He scored 45 goals in 131 international appearances.

Style of play

Müller is a versatile player. In Bayern's youth system, he primarily played as a midfielder, but transitioned to playing as an attacker after joining the first team. When Bayern Munich usually employed a 4–2–3–1 formation, Müller played as one of three attacking midfielders behind the central striker, with an alternative role as a second striker.

His skill set has been described as unorthodox by former Bayern manager Carlo Ancelotti - Müller has never been particularly renowned for his athleticism, technique, ball control, dribbling or pace, qualities typically associated with attackers. Instead, he is widely praised for his tactical intelligence, finishing, and positioning. German editor Uli Hesse of The Guardian wrote of Müller that, though he cannot "beat you" with his close ball control, pace or dribbling skills, "he just beats you". Former Germany manager Joachim Löw said he is "impervious to pressure" and former Bayern manager Louis van Gaal said he has tremendous mental strength. Müller is heavily involved in buildup play and he has been praised by the media for his intelligent movement off the ball; he describes himself as a player who can find spaces in the opposition defence but not particularly good at dribbling or one-on-ones. Müller describes this role as Raumdeuter, a term which translates, literally, to "space interpreter".

During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Löw said Müller "is a very unorthodox player and you can't really predict his lines of running, but he has one aim and that is 'how can I score a goal?'". In addition to his offensive capabilities, Müller has also been praised by pundits for his stamina and defensive work-rate. Former Bayern assistant coach Hermann Gerland gave him the nickname Radio Müller for his loud and frequent comments on the pitch and in the dressing room.

Personal life

Müller was born in Weilheim in Oberbayern, Bavaria. He was raised in the nearby village of Pähl, which became the centre of media attention during his 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign. His parents are Klaudia and Gerhard, and he has a brother, Simon, who is two and a half years younger.

Müller married his long-time girlfriend Lisa Trede, a semi-professional equestrienne who works on a farm, in December 2009 after being engaged for two years. In June 2026, Müller and his wife Lisa announced their separation.

In June 2011, he became an ambassador for YoungWings, a charity that helps children who have suffered bereavement or trauma. In August 2026, Müller became an investor and shareholder in the German investment group that acquired 90% of Portuguese club Estrela da Amadora for €40 million, alongside Mats Hummels, Yann Sommer and Lucas Hernandez.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 9 September 2026

International

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first.

Notes

Honours

Bayern Munich

Bundesliga: 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2024–25

DFB-Pokal: 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2018–19, 2019–20; runner-up: 2011–12, 2017–18

DFL-Supercup: 2010, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022

UEFA Champions League: 2012–13, 2019–20; runner-up: 2009–10, 2011–12

UEFA Super Cup: 2013, 2020

FIFA Club World Cup: 2013, 2020

Vancouver Whitecaps

Canadian Championship: 2025

MLS Cup runner-up: 2025

Germany

FIFA World Cup: 2014; third place: 2010

UEFA European Championship third place: 2012

Individual

FIFA World Cup Golden Boot: 2010

FIFA World Cup Best Young Player: 2010

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2010

FIFA World Cup Silver Boot: 2014

FIFA World Cup Silver Ball: 2014

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2014

Orders

Silbernes Lorbeerblatt: 2010, 2014

Bavarian Order of Merit: 2019