Background and career
Thomas Müller (German pronunciation: [ˈtoːmas ˈmʏlɐ]; born 13 September 1989) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation. Nicknamed "der Raumdeuter" (the 'interpreter of space'), Müller has been praised for his positioning, finishing, work-rate, and consistency in both scoring and creating goals. He is both the all-time German top goalscorer and assist provider in the UEFA Champions League.
As a product of Bayern Munich's youth system, which he joined at age 10 in 2000, Müller played for the club until 2025. With Bayern, he won a record thirteen Bundesliga titles, six DFB-Pokals, eight DFL-Supercups, two UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, and two FIFA Club World Cups. He joined the first team in the 2009–10 season after Louis van Gaal was appointed as the main coach; he played almost every game that season as Bayern won the league and cup double and reached the 2010 Champions League final. Müller also scored in the 2012 Champions League final, though Bayern lost that final on penalties. Müller scored 23 goals in the 2012–13 season as Bayern won a historic treble; the league title, cup and Champions League. In the 2019–20, he broke the Bundesliga record for assists in a season with 21 (a joint record in the top five leagues alongside Lionel Messi in La Liga and Bruno Fernandes in the Premier League) and scored 14 goals as Bayern won a second treble. With 756 matches played across seventeen seasons, Müller is Bayern's all-time record appearance holder, scoring 250 goals and providing 223 assists for the club across all competitions. He is one of only three players in league history to reach the landmark of 100 Bundesliga goals and 100 Bundesliga assists each (alongside Andreas Möller and Marco Reus). He also holds the record for the most UEFA Champions League appearances with one team.
Müller was called up to the Germany national team in 2010. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he scored five goals in six appearances as Germany finished in third place. He was named the Best Young Player of the tournament and won the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, he played a major role in helping the team win the trophy, as he scored five goals and received the Silver Ball as the tournament's second best player and the Silver Boot as the second top goalscorer. He was also named in the World Cup All-Star XI and in the Dream Team. He retired from international football after the UEFA Euro 2024. On 1 October 2025, Müller became the most decorated German footballer in history with 35 trophies.
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.
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.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth, in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
