Bayern legend must go
Max Eberl comments on Müller-Aus: “I wasn’t that smart”
Updated on April 6th, 2025 – 12:05 p.m.Reading time: 3 min.
The end of Thomas Müller at Bayern attracted a lot of attention. Now sports director Max Eberl came up with the discussion – and admitted mistakes.
Max Eberl has admitted his own mistakes in the controversy about Thomas Müller’s end at FC Bayern. After officially announced on Saturday that the Munich team would not offer its Klublegende to an extension of his contract that expires in the summer, Eberl commented in the “Doppelpass” at Sport1.
Background of the controversy: Müller himself had announced that he would have liked to extend his contract by one year, but this failed due to the will of the association (you can read more about this here). Eberl had suggested at a press conference in January that the decision about his future was alone with Müller. “Thomas doesn’t need to negotiate big,” said Eberl at the time. “If he says he wants to continue, then we will look into our eyes, we’ll take a look at the squad, and then it will go on. It will probably be the shortest conversation.”
In the “double pass” Eberl now admitted that this statement was wrong. The first talks with Müller and his consultant took place in November, Eberl said. From the player side, however, it was then proposed to make a decision until March. He then made the statement in January. “Maybe I wasn’t that smart,” said Eberl. The criticism of him is entitled to this point.
The 51-year-old admitted that the statement had fallen out of an emotion. “I too could not imagine a Bundesliga and FC Bayern without Thomas Müller at this time,” continued the sports director.
The rapidly sloping periods of Müller in 2025, however, had moved the club to rethink. “Thomas Müller was a very big topic, simply from the legend he is at Bayern,” said Eberl. At the beginning of March, the decision was made in the sporting management, which was then coordinated with the entire board. In mid -March she was informed of the player.
“I did very emotionally very close,” Eberl admitted. “It hurts with such a legend.” Overall, however, the decision was one for the future of the club and had no financial causes. “I can’t say everything we are planning in summer. But if you see the overall picture, what we are going to do, we have come to this decision, for which we do not receive applause,” said Eberl.
Eberl also admitted that Müller was very disappointed with the decision. “I have total understanding that Thomas went out of disappointed after the conversation” and “Sauer”, said Eberl. “It wasn’t nice for me either, I didn’t sleep for three days before.”
Eberl also commented on alleged moods between the sporting leadership and the supervisory board – and consistently rejected it. In particular, the relationship between the sports director and honorary president Uli Hoeneß had been spaced. “It doesn’t crunch between me and Uli Hoeneß,” said Eberl. There are also no disagreements in the rest of the club. Although it is sometimes discussed constructively, in the end one of all the goal, at the most successful in terms of sport.