Thomas Müller replaces record holder Maier

Thomas Müller comes on as a substitute against Freiburg. The former international player thus celebrates a Bayern record.

Thomas Müller is FC Bayern Munich’s sole record player. When he was substituted on in the Bundesliga match against SC Freiburg in the 59th minute, the 34-year-old played his 710th competitive match for the German record champions. The former international player thus surpassed former world champion goalkeeper Sepp Maier, whose mark of 709 appearances Müller had equalled on the first matchday of the season in the 3:2 win against VfL Wolfsburg.

At the same time, the offensive player and 2014 world champion played his 475th Bundesliga game for Bayern, putting him two games ahead of the former record holder Maier. At his debut on August 15, 2008 against Hamburger SV (2:2), the Bayern coach was still Jürgen Klinsmann. “Thomas, you LEGEND!” wrote the club on the X platform.

Kompany was Müller’s opponent at his debut

“Records like that aren’t that important to me, but rather that I scored a brutally beautiful goal today, technically outstanding, and then it went in. That’s what I enjoy,” said Müller on the streaming service DAZN. Before that, fans in the south curve had called him to the fence, where the 34-year-old thanked them via megaphone and gave them his shoes as a gift.

Coach Vincent Kompany was there for Müller’s Bundesliga debut as a player for HSV. “710 games to go, that’s unbelievable. 710 games of giving 100 percent, not just in the games, but also in training. That’s what makes Thomas so special. He’s 34 now, but he’s going on, many games left this season,” said the 38-year-old Kompany.

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