34-yr-old Thomas Mueller extends Bayern contract until 2025

Veteran Bayern Munich attacker Thomas Mueller has extended his deal by one year to 2025, the Bavarian club announced on Tuesday.

“I’m happy my journey at FC Bayern is continuing. I want to play my part in us remaining successful, both as a team and the whole club,” Mueller said in a statement.

Mueller’s contract was set to expire at the end of this season.

Calling Mueller “quality and reliability personified”, Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund said the veteran was “a leader on and off the pitch, always a role model and incredibly valuable for the entire team”.

Despite wearing the captain’s armband several times this season, the 34-year-old has received less game time under coach Thomas Tuchel, enjoying just five league starts.

Mueller has become synonymous with the Bavarian giants and has been at Bayern for more than two decades, having joined as a 10-year-old in 2000 from village club TSV Paehl, located just 50 kilometres from Munich.

A two-time Champions League winner, Mueller has won 12 Bundesliga titles with Bayern in a career spanning 684 games, scoring 237 goals and providing 261 assists.

Only former Bayern goalkeeper Sepp Maier has played more games for the club and only Gerd Mueller, with 568, and Robert Lewandowski, with 344, have more goals for the club.

For Germany, Mueller was first called up in March of 2010, where he played in a 1-0 defeat to Argentina.

Since then, the attacker has played 126 games, scoring 45 times and winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Mueller was left out of the Germany squad after their group-stage exit at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, with many expecting his time with the four-time World Cup winners was over.

However, he was recalled in September, scoring a goal in a 2-1 win over France, and looks likely to play a role in next year’s home European Championship under former Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann.

In November, Mueller’s captain and long-time teammate Manuel Neuer, 37, also extended his deal by a season to 2025.