Thomas Müller inspires the Bundesliga above all with his assists. Now the FC Bayern star can surpass his own record. He sends a challenge to superstar Lionel Messi – and soon there will also be contract talks.
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Dhe record man relies on animal relaxation. After the training sessions at FC Bayern, Thomas Müller likes to play with his Labrador named Murmel or to go to the Gut Wettlkam stud farm, where he breeds dressage horses with his wife Lisa.
Apparently the perfect balance for the world champion in busy football: Müller is in top form and is one of the best players in the Bundesliga again this season. Even at the age of 32, after almost 14 years in professional football, he has hardly ever been injured and always sets new records. Experts and fans marvel at this player. Thomas Müller, the phenomenon.
On this Sunday (5.30 p.m., in the sports ticker of the WELT) he joins the Munich team at Hertha BSC. In the game, Müller can further extend the record he has just set: he has prepared 150 goals in the Bundesliga so far, most recently two in a 4-0 away win against 1. FC Köln – more than any other league player. In second place is the former Bayern star Franck Ribéry, now under contract with the Italian first division club US Salernitana, with 92 assists.
Only Messi managed more assists
In the top European leagues, only Lionel Messi has managed more assists (180) since Müller’s debut as a professional in 2008. The Argentinian superstar, who joined Paris St. Germain from FC Barcelona last summer, played almost 40 more games in this period. After the victory in Cologne, Müller wrote on Twitter with a wink to Messi: “Hola. I keep working to get closer.”
In addition, the Bavarian leads the list of the best assist providers this Bundesliga season with 18 assists, he initiated nine goals more than second, Bayer Leverkusen’s super talent Florian Wirtz. No one had managed that many assists after 19 matchdays since data collection began 20 years ago.
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Müller is likely to set his own record this season: so far, 21 assists in a league season have been his top value. In the Champions League he was directly involved in four goals in six preliminary round games this season (two assists, two goals). “It’s just fun to contribute to success, to be directly involved in goals,” said Müller. “I would be even happier if I could meet a few more times myself.”
The attacking professional scored five goals himself in the current season. Only star striker Robert Lewandowski, who was honored as world footballer for the second time in a row this week, is involved in even more goals (24).