Bavarian titan Thomas Müller exceeds yet another significant milestone
The record-breaking spree continues, even in the Champions League: Relentless Thomas Müller has now notched up 152 appearances in the elite tournament for FC Bayern with his outing against Dinamo Zagreb, making him the sole record holder for most CL games for a single club, surpassing Xavi Hernandez's 151 games at Barcelona. In the initial Champions League match of the new season, the 34-year-old Müller was brought in for Jamal Musiala in the 68th minute.
Legendary goalkeeper Iker Casillas and Lionel Messi have each made 150 appearances for a club (Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively), while Cristiano Ronaldo holds the overall record with 183 games for Real, Juventus Turin, and Manchester United. Whether Müller can match up is uncertain, given his contract with the 2014 World Cup winners is set to expire at the season's end. Müller recently bid farewell to the national team after the home European Championship.
Müller previously surpassed the record of legendary goalkeeper Sepp Maier with his 710th competitive appearance for Bayern. He was honored by CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen and President Herbert Hainer before the Zagreb game, receiving a carved wooden figure as a gift. "Our longstanding chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge once said that if you had to carve a Bayern player, you would have to commission Thomas Müller from the world-famous woodcarvers in Oberammergau. The club took him at his word," Hainer commented.
Similarly, Harry Kane also made history. He claimed the title of England's most successful goalscorer in the Champions League. The English national team captain augmented his Champions League goal count to 33 in the match against Dinamo Zagreb, leaving behind his compatriot Wayne Rooney (30 goals) and Munich club legend Arjen Robben (31). Robben propelled Bayern Munich to the Champions League victory against Dortmund at Wembley in 2013.
Following his hat-trick against Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga past weekend, the ex-Tottenham star Kane achieved his first Champions League quadruple pack for Bayern on Tuesday. Kane is only the fourth player to accomplish this feat for the Munich team before him, having scored three penalties against Dinamo Zagreb and netting one from Kimmich's shot. Previously, Kane had scored two doubles for Bayern in the Champions League: against Galatasaray Istanbul in November 2023 and against Lazio Rome half a year ago. In total, Kane now boasts 53 competitive goals for FC Bayern.
Other players have also achieved notable milestones in the Champions League. For instance, English striker Sergio Aguero reached the 100-goal mark in the tournament with Manchester City. Additionally, Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score in all of Europe's top five leagues in one calendar year.
