Over the past few months, the question posed by Munich journalists has often been: which games are so-called “Thomas Müller games”? The countless examples were quickly found, and so was the answer – pretty much all of them! As one former Bayern coach once put it: “Müller always plays!” Since the veteran made his debut for the German record champions in August 2008, FCB have played 820 competitive matches, with Müller appearing in 710 of them, making him the club’s outright record appearance holder now. We have even more impressive statistics from his inimitable career.
710 times in an FC Bayern shirt
Müller's record by competition breaks down as follows: 475 Bundesliga matches, 151 in the Champions League (plus two in qualifying), 66 appearances in the DFB Cup and 12 in the DFL Supercup, as well as two each in the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. He has also won every competition in which he has played for Bayern (at least twice) - it doesn't get much better than that!
475 Bundesliga appearances for one club
It goes without saying that Müller has played all of his 475 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern. That not only makes him the record holder for his boyhood club, ahead of Sepp Maier (473), but also puts him among historic Bundesliga figures. Only Klaus Fichtel (477 for Schalke), Michael ‘Ata’ Lameck (518 for Bochum), Manfred Kaltz (581 for Hamburg) and Charly Körbel (602 for Eintracht Frankfurt) have played more games for a single club.
Müller the serial winner – 341 victories
Müller has earned three points in 341 Bundesliga matches. That is a record narrowly ahead of his teammate Manuel Neuer (340).
245 inimitable Müller celebrations
Nobody celebrates as beautifully as Thomas Müller! And the reason doesn't always have to be his goals - like here after the 2020 Champions League win.
Of course, Müller didn't let himself down in his record-breaking match either, firing the ball into the back of the net for the winner in the 2-0 victory against Freiburg. Fans of the German record champions have been able to celebrate his goals for Bayern a total of 245 times. Even if not all of them were wonder-strikes, nobody can doubt the 34-year-old's instinct for scoring. Only namesake Gerd Müller (566) and Robert Lewandowski (344) are ahead of him in the club's history.
217 assists – a top playmaker too
Hardly any other player of his generation has had such an eye for his teammates as Müller. The homegrown talent has provided a total of 217 assists in his career to date. No other Bundesliga player comes close. Marco Reus and Franck Ribéry follow behind in second place with 124 assists each.
151 Champions League games - our man in Europe
No other German player has made as many appearances in the Champions League as Müller (151 times). His 54 goals in Europe’s elite club competition are also unrivalled in Germany. Additionally, Müller's 104 victories in the Champions League are bettered only by Cristiano Ronaldo (115).
33 trophies - Müller guarantees success
Whether it's the league, the cup or the Champions League, Müller has won them all! The Bavarian has amassed 33 trophies in his career – 32 with Bayern, plus the 2014 World Cup with Germany. This makes him the most successful German player after only Toni Kroos (34 trophies). But as we all know, he retired in the summer...
Müller's 33rd and last trophy to date was the Bundesliga in 2023. After a season without silverware, his hunger for success is likely to have increased again this year.
17 seasons for FC Bayern
The 2024/25 season is Müller's 17th season for Bayern in the Bundesliga. Only the aforementioned Kaltz (for Hamburg), Körbel (for Frankfurt) and Fichtel (for Schalke) have played in more different seasons for a single club in this competition (all 19 apiece).
Goals across 16 Bundesliga seasons
The goal against Freiburg saw Müller open his account for the campaign, making it the 16th Bundesliga season in a row where he has scored - a record in the competition. Only Holger Fach, Mats Hummels, Bernd Nickel, Olaf Thon and Michael Zorc have achieved this so far, with only Nickel (Frankfurt) and Zorc (Dortmund) having achieved this for the same club.
12-time title winner - record champion
Müller has been an ever-present in each of Bayern’s last 12 Bundesliga-winning teams. This places in outright first place for the most decorated player in over 60 years of the German top flight.
There’s only one Thomas Müller
No question: Thomas Müller is simply unique. If Bayern fans have their way, his record-breaking game against Freiburg will be followed by many more. Anyone who looks at his unrivalled numbers will know that every game is a ‘Thomas Müller game’!
The match report from Thomas Müller's record game is available here:
Topics of this article