Vancouver-bound Thomas Müller jokes he misses travel partner
Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Left, and Bayern’s Thomas Muller respond after the German Supercup last football match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday 3 August 2019.Martin Meissner/The Associated Press
After 25 years in Bayern Munich, Thomas Müller has a lot to adapt to the Whitecaps of Vancouver.
First, fly without an old friend.
On board the plane he brought him to Canada and Major League Soccer, Müller joked that it was the first time in 15 years that he had flown without Manuel Neuer, the keeper, his old teammate for Bayern and the German national team.
“I’m on my flight to Vancouver. I’m looking for the goat. Can you help me? I can’t find him anywhere,” said Müller in a video on Instagram.
“It has been my first flight without Manuel Neuer since maybe 15 years, I don’t know. I am very excited to come to Vancouver to play for the WhiteCaps. Fingers crossed for my first games. You see there.”
The 35-year-old attacker admitted that he felt “a little nervous” in comments to the German broadcaster Sky Sport. “It is the first time in a very long time that I am a member with a new team.”
Müller came to Bayern’s Academy in 2000 as a 10-year-old and had spent his entire career with the German champion and won a record 13 Bundesliga titles, two champions competitions and the World Cup with Germany in 2014.
At Vancouver International Airport fans cheered as sulfur flags while Muller walked through sliding doors after cleaning up customs. He then joined fans in an airport restaurant to see how the Whitecaps are confronted with the Canadian Premier League club Forge FC in the first stage of the semi -final of the Canadian championship.
Muller’s last match for Bayern was a quarter-final loss for Paris Saint-Germain at the Club World Cup in Atlanta, after a months farewell to the club. Bayern announced in April that it would not expand his contract. Müller said he understood: “Even if this did not reflect my personal wishes.”
The following weeks saw emotional scenes with teammates, club officials and fans when Müller hit personal milestones – his 500th Bundesliga game and a total of 750th competition for Bayern and another German title completed.
Vancouver said that last week Müller will participate in the WhiteCaps for the rest of the season in an open schedule place, with a designated player option for 2026.
