“It was a huge compliment that they rejected €100 million”: Bayern icon Thomas Müller explains failed move to a world club
Thomas Müller has again spoken about his collapsed transfer to Manchester United and explained what particularly impressed him about Bayern Munich’s veto.
"United bid around €100 million in 2015," Müller confirmed on the The Late Run podcast. "But I was under contract and Bayern said no."
Müller has spoken several times in other interviews over the past few years about Manchester's interest at the time. It is also not new that, at 25, he genuinely considered leaving Bayern for United. One reason was Louis van Gaal, the coaching icon under whom Müller had made his breakthrough at Bayern, with the Dutchman then in the dugout at Old Trafford.
"I had the thought that maybe I really should go," Müller now explained. "The offer was very good and it gave me the chance to work with my mentor again. I was also in my mid-20s and felt that I would be ready for the Premier League," the attacking player, who now plays for the Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS, added.
Why was Thomas Müller able to live well with Bayern's veto?
Despite considering the move, he was not disappointed by Bayern's veto. "I was also happy that Bayern said no. Because it was a big compliment that they rejected €100 million and in doing so signalled to me: 'You are our man,'" Müller said.
At Säbener Straße, he had always felt "very comfortable", the 2014 World Cup winner stressed. "At Bayern you have everything you want: you compete for the Champions League every year, have a great city, are number one in Germany and, as a Germany international, are always in the spotlight. I always enjoyed that, feeling that pressure." As a home-grown player from the region, he had also "always felt a little more responsibility towards the fans than other players", Müller continued.
When did Thomas Müller think again about leaving Bayern?
A few years later, the idea of a move returned. In the 2018/19 season under then Bayern coach Niko Kovac, Müller was at times only second choice, as he revealed in 2024 in kicker and in 2025 in SPIEGEL. "I spoke with the club's management and felt too ambitious for the role of a reserve," the former international said. But because the change of coach from Kovac to Hansi Flick then happened amid such thoughts, the issue "never became concrete".
That meant Müller stayed at Bayern until 2025, racking up 756 competitive appearances (250 goals) and winning the Champions League twice, in 2013 and 2020, along with 13 German league titles. Last year he moved to Vancouver, where the 37-year-old is playing a major part in the Whitecaps being one of the top teams in MLS. At the end of September, Müller extended his contract by another six months, meaning he will play for Vancouver at least until the summer of 2027. To date, the Bayern legend has recorded 19 goals and 11 assists in 45 appearances for the Canadians.
