National team - Uniqat says 'Servus': Muller's DFB-farewell with WM-wish
Thomas Müller pointed to the camera with his finger, turned around, and left. "Goodbye. One sees oneself," were his last words in his farewell video. In the background, emotional sounds of piano and violin accompanied him. For even more pathos, the 34-year-old would have had to run towards a sunset. That would have suited his humor quite well. Horses are also his great hobby, besides his career as a footballer.
However, the internet video, 106 seconds long, was shot on a bright day, and at a place that holds great significance for the former World Champion and Bayern star. "Here in Pähl on the sports field is where it all began, my huge passion for football," Müller recounted about the beginnings of his unique career.
In Pähl between Ammersee and Starnberger See, where Bayern cannot be more idyllic, the Good-Mood Footballer, who for almost one and a half decades was an influential figure in the National Team, now officially announced the end of his DFB career. "After 131 international matches and 45 goals, I say goodbye to the Bundesadler today," Müller said in the video.
The lost European Championship quarter-final against Spain, that painful 1:2 after extra time in Stuttgart, was Müller's last international match. This news came a day after the final of the home tournament with the triumph of eternal rival Spain against England (2:1) and was not surprising.
The "Bild" newspaper had already reported it in the previous week. He himself had hinted at it. "It could be that it was the last international match. Perhaps the coach and I will realize that it makes more sense," the 34-year-old said shortly after the elimination.
Another final at home?
In the future, it's all about FC Bayern for him. His contract with his hometown and heart's club still runs for another year. Goals are always there for someone like Müller. The final of the Champions League in Munich on May 31, 2025, is scheduled.
"Thank you for everything you have done for the German jersey. Germany can be proud of you! PS: In the Bayern jersey, it may still go successfully for a few more seasons," wrote his former teammate Bastian Schweinsteiger on the platform X.
Julian Nagelsmann praised his "Connector" after his retirement. "He not only enriched our EM team with his sports qualities, but also as a leader, as a role model, as an identification figure. I have experienced Thomas as a very intelligent player – football-wise, emotionally, and fundamentally," said the national coach.
He had left it up to Müller to announce the inevitable himself. The players are in charge in the question "in the lead," the national coach had said. Besides Müller, he meant Manuel Neuer. The decision of the record goalkeeper is still pending.
If it starts again for the National Team on September 7 against Hungary and three days later in the Netherlands for the Nations League, Neuer will surely not be there, like Müller and Toni Kroos, who had announced his complete retirement before the EM. No World Cup winner from 2014 in the DFB team - a turning point.
"It has always made me very proud to play for my country. We have celebrated together and sometimes even shed a tear," Müller said. "Sometimes on the ground destroyed, only to rise again. In competition against the best players in the world, at the side of fantastic teammates, with whom I have experienced countless unforgettable moments," Müller described his DFB career.
Fingers crossed for 2026.
Müller turned his gaze forward in his new role. With a typical fan appeal. "Take the excitement and joy of this year's Euro and give it to the team on the way to the WM 2026. I am doing it too. Now as a fan on the tribune and not longer as a player on the green grass", he said, with the Germany flag over his shoulder, black-red-golden hearts as graphic elements, and of course in the DFB kit with his number 13.
Müller was always also a fan. And a fan favorite. This role suited him. Agile, unorthodox. On and beside the pitch. "No one is like Thomas Müller. His value for German football cannot be evaluated highly enough", said DFB sports director Rudi Völler.
His debut in 2010 was already marked by the eternal anecdote that Diego Maradona considered him a ballboy, and this supposed Argentine football icon eliminated him from the tournament a few months later at the WM in South Africa in the quarterfinals.
Müller played 131 times for Germany since then, starting in March 2010 in the WM test against Argentina (0:1). Fewer appearances were made for the DFB team by record holders Lothar Matthäus (150) and Miroslav Klose (137). 45 goals place him seventh in the DFB ranking, alongside Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and just below Rudi Völler and Jürgen Klinsmann (both 47 goals). Curiously, he scored no EM goals, but ten WM goals, five of which were on the way to the title in the Maracanã 2014. Fewer goals were scored for Germany at World Championships than Klose (16), Gerd Müller (13), and Klinsmann (11).
Coercive breaks and comebacks
Who knows where Müller would have been ranked in all these statistics if the forced absences had not been there. In March 2019, the then national coach Joachim Löw announced his withdrawal. Dismissed together with the other Rio champions Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng - a decision that was hotly debated at the time. But Müller returned. To the EM 2021 he was back, but without Fortuna. In the round of 16 against England (0:2), he missed the big equalizing chance.
The next break and comeback under national coach Hansi Flick ultimately ended in the disappointing WM 2022 in Qatar. It seemed final then. "It was an enormous pleasure, dear people. Many thanks. We have had incredible moments together. I have given my heart on the pitch in every game", Müller said at the time on TV. This was interpreted as a retirement statement. He assured Müller in the desert of Al-Bayt that he had done it "with love".
The sports field in Pähl was certainly the better place for the farewell - also without horse and sunset.
- After confirming his retirement from the national team, Thomas Müller expressed his gratitude towards FC Bayern, mentioning the Champions League final in Munich in 2025 as a future goal.
- Despite his retirement from the DFB, Müller's dedication to soccer remains evident, as his contract with his hometown club, Bayern, still runs for another year.
- The picture-newspaper 'Bild' reported on Müller's retirement a week prior to his official announcement, with the former World Champion hinting at the possibility himself.
- The European Championship quarter-final against Spain, which ended with a painful 1:2 loss for Germany in Stuttgart, marked Thomas Müller's last international match.
- The end of Müller's DFB career coincided with the final of the home tournament, where Spain triumphed over England, making the news of his retirement less surprising.
- In his farewell video, Thomas Müller spoke fondly of his beginnings in Pähl, between Ammersee and Starnberger See, where he nurtured his passion for soccer.
- Manuel Neuer's decision to continue or retire from the German national team remains a question, as he was also a crucial part of the team alongside Müller and Toni Kroos.
- When it comes to supporting the German team, Thomas Müller, despite his retirement, demonstrated his enthusiasm, stating that he would cheer on the team in the upcoming World Cup 2026.
- After a successful and remarkable career with the DFB, Thomas Müller expressed his pride in representing Germany, sharing memorable moments with the best players in the world.
- Rudi Völler, the DFB sports director, praised Thomas Müller's impact on German football, acknowledging his unique value and unparalleled contribution to the sport.
