When the news broke earlier today that Bayern Munich had formally decided to no offer a contract to Thomas Müller for next season, it was met with a lot of consternation from fans.
While nothing has been made official, after a week of updates, it looks to be a done deal, which has reportedly left Müller unhappy.
Now, Bild has emerged with more details (some information was remove because it reiterated information from the previous report):
After this meeting at the latest, it is now clear to all sides that Thomas Müller (35) will leave FC Bayern at the end of the season. His contract expires and an extension is off the table. But there are still many unanswered questions: How will his departure be communicated? What about the Club World Cup, which begins during his current contract but will end when his contract expires? And what will happen next for the Bayern legend?
As expected, Müller has not taken any of this well:
In Müller’s case, you can tell that he is disgruntled at the way things are going because the information about his departure has leaked out and he found out about it in a roundabout way through the media. At the moment, it is not clear whether Müller’s departure will be announced in a press release and what the contractually agreed farewell match will look like. It is also uncertain whether he will be sent off at the end of the season.
It is difficult for the original Bavarian to accept that he has not received an offer. There are unanswered questions: His contract ends during the Club World Cup. He could still play the round of 16, but not the quarter-finals if Bayern make it that far. The tendency is that Müller will not play the Club World Cup because the fronts are so hardened.
Despite reports that board member for sport Eberl was actually advocating for Müller, it appears that the executive is “being blamed” for the situation:
Eberl is also being blamed for the poor communication surrounding such a deserving player as Müller. He also said in January that all they had to do was sit down together and a solution would be found. All Müller had to do was say “yes.” And now it’s suddenly “no” – Müller didn’t expect that.
Finally, Bild is reporting that Bayern Munich would like to point Müller toward its partner in MLS, LAFC, but the relationship could be damaged to the point where Müller might not want to comply:
Müller was suggested to play for the partner club in the USA, LAFC. Müller could have imagined another season at Bayern, but is now considering whether to end his career or play for a US club. The club bosses are trying to make LAFC palatable to him. There he could become Bayern’s ambassador in the USA.
However, it is questionable whether Müller will go along with this after the events of the last few weeks…
If the latest reports are true, the Thomas Müller Era at Bayern Munich is over.
How do fans feel about it? How should fans feel about it? Is it just the natural course of a career even for a club legend like Müller — or could something have been done to make it a more palatable exit for fans and the player alike?
One thing is for sure — there is a lot to talk about and discuss regarding the career achievements of a player like Müller and why it has all come to this. Who is at fault? Who should be blamed? Let’s talk about all of this and more on this Special Edition of Bavarian Podcast Works.
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