Thomas Muller is already Germany's most decorated player, with 28 titles to his name for both club and country. That includes a World Cup as well as two Champions League titles, and subsequently, two Trebles (won in 2013, and most recently, in 2021).
Not bad, for someone who just turned 31 last September. Muller has spent his entire professional career with Bayern Munich and it's really hard to imagine him playing his football anywhere else but at the Allianz Arena despite his being linked to numerous clubs abroad.
However, despite making over 570 appearances in all competitions for die Roten, scoring over 212 goals and developing from a sole attacker into a key assist provider (he's provided over 200 and counting), he hasn't ruled out a departure, and perhaps even sooner rather than later.
In a recent interview with The Times, a British publication, Muller noted that despite his clear affinity for the Bavarian titans where he's developed both professionally and personally as a player, he would not be averse to testing himself in a totally different environment:
"[Although] I [naturally] have a special relationship [with Bayern]...[in fact], I love[ed] [this club even] before I started playing for them...
"[However] when [comes about] a situation where you have to [consider] maybe [whether] to play for a different club [or not, there's nothing wrong with that].
"[After all], I'm not [tied] to this club."
Currently, Muller's contract does tie him to the Allianz Arena until 2023, but as we all know, it's just a piece of paper and nothing is set in stone. The multi-award winning player has been linked with teams like Liverpool and Manchester United in the past, and it will be interesting to see what develops this summer, especially with die Roten especially keen on trying to make an aggressive move for Dortmund's Norwegian striker Erling Haaland.
Haaland's arrival, should it come to pass, could threaten Muller's position in Hansi Flick's starting XI, and despite him presently enjoying a fruitful and successful partnership with Robert Lewandowski up front, the Bavarian-born attacker certainly, and rightfully so, will not be keen on playing back-up to a player 11 years his junior. As such, Muller will naturally push for a swift exit - and that would actually see him say Auf Wiedersehen to the arena he's called home for his entire professional career for well over a decade.
