Thomas Müller is already a living club legend at FC Bayern. With 33 titles won with the club or national team, he is the most decorated German footballer of all time. Now he has broken a new sound barrier in the Champions League.
On Wednesday evening, the club’s stalwart came on as a substitute in the opening win against Manchester United in the 87th minute and was able to score three goals in the final minutes against the Red Devils in the turbulent final phase.
The 4:3 against the English record champions meant Thomas Müller’s 100th victory in the premier class. An outstanding value that no German player or a player from a Bundesliga club has ever achieved before.
Only two players in the history of the competition have ever reached the mark of 100 wins in the premier class: Spanish goalkeeper icon Iker Casillas ended his active career with a total of 101 games won in the Champions League, while record holder Cristiano Ronaldo even has 115 wins.
In two weeks Müller could draw level with Casillas with an away win at FC Copenhagen (October 3rd from 9:00 p.m.).
Bayern star Müller surpasses Raúl
Overall, Müller’s substitution against Man United on Wednesday evening marked his 143rd appearance overall in the premier class of European club football. In this category too, the 2014 world champion has long belonged to an elite group.
With the game against the English record champions, Müller surpassed the long-time Real Madrid and later Schalke goalscorer Raúl (142 appearances) and moved up to seventh place in the all-time best list.
The attacker’s next target is Man United legend Ryan Giggs, who ended his playing career with 145 games in the Champions League. Here too, Cristiano Ronaldo is the record holder with an incredible 183 CL games.