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When asked about his future destination a few days after their Bundesliga triumph, Muller stated that he was exploring various possibilities with an open mind.
Thomas Muller. (X)
Thomas Muller has yet to decide his future as he is set to part ways with his childhood club, Bayern Munich. Having won his 13th Bundesliga title recently, Muller is now gearing up to represent Bayern in the FIFA Club World Cup, slated to be hosted in the United States in June. While he remains excited to feature in the mega tournament, Muller has already started thinking about his next move. The German superstar, who joined the FC Bayern academy as a 10-year-old in 2000, is the most capped player in club history with 750 appearances. His current contract with the Bavarian giants will expire this summer.
When asked about his future destination a few days after their Bundesliga triumph, Muller made an honest confession.“I don’t know yet. There’s nothing concrete at the moment, but I have ideas, of course. We’re keeping it exciting. I think the next few weeks will show. We still have the Club World Cup coming up, which will be an exciting experience,” he told Sky Sports.
Muller might follow in the footsteps of Messi to join the Major League Soccer (MLS) in the twilight phase of his professional career. The 35-year-old has admitted that he has been pursued by American clubs. He, however, will assess some other options before taking the final call.
“Of course, I’m also asking around in the US. I don’t have a complete strategy yet. I’ve never been the type to say, ‘This is my only idea and we’ll do it.’ I’m deliberately very open-minded. I plan, once I’ve stopped playing football, to try to feel if I’m missing something and what I’m missing. There isn’t one single wish or one single dream. We’ll see,” Muller revealed.
Los Angeles FC have emerged as a front-runner to sign Muller. A long-standing partnership with Bayern Munich might help in facilitating the potential deal. Jochen Sauer, who is at the helm of Bayern’s youth academy and also heads Red & Gold Football — a joint venture with LAFC–could play a key role in pushing the ageing forward for a move to California.
LAFC may make a bid for Muller in the summer transfer window, but the deal could be hijacked by Cincinnati, which holds the footballer’s “discovery rights” as per MLS regulations. This mechanism allows the particular club to make the initial offer to foreign players. Muller, however, is believed not to be quite interested in Cincinnati.
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