FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Bayern Munich Training - Saebener Strasse, Munich, Germany - April 7, 2025 Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller during training REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File Photo
(Reuters) -Former Germany and Bayern Munich forward Thomas Mueller has signed a season-long deal with Major League Soccer (MLS) side Vancouver Whitecaps, the Canadian club said on Wednesday
Mueller, who turns 36 next month, decided to leave Bayern at the end of last season after 25 years with the German champions, helping them win 13 Bundesliga titles and two Champions League trophies.
Mueller has signed for the rest of the 2025 season, with the club holding an option to keep him in 2026 as a Designated Player -- a status that allows MLS teams to pay top salaries outside the league's salary cap.
"I'm looking forward to coming to Vancouver to help this team win a championship," Mueller said in a statement. "I’ve heard great things about the city, but first and foremost I’m coming to win."
"This is a statement signing by our club and our ownership-- a transformative moment for our club and our city. We are proud to welcome Thomas to Vancouver," Whitecaps CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster said.
Mueller made 131 appearances for Germany, scoring 45 goals, and was instrumental in their 2014 World Cup triumph. He scored 250 goals and registered 276 assists from 756 appearances for Bayern across all competitions.
The playmaker helped Bayern reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals in the United States last month, where they lost to eventual runners-up Paris St Germain.
Mueller is scheduled to arrive in Vancouver on August 13. Vancouver, who are second in the Western Conference, visit San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
