Thomas Muller matches Lionel Messi's feat in his final appearance for Bayern Munich in the UCL
Thomas Muller made his 163rd appearance in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) in the second leg of Bayern Munich's quarter-final with Inter Milan on Wednesday, April 16. This put him in joint third place for all-time appearances alongside Lionel Messi, who played the same number of UCL games during his time in Europe.
Bayern were knocked out at the quarterfinal stage of the competition after losing 3-4 on aggregate against Inter. They had lost the first leg on April 8 by a 1-2 scoreline, while the second finished in a 2-2 draw. Interestingly, Muller scored the only goal for Bayern in that game at the Allianz Arena.
While Muller and Messi hold the third place on this list, Cristiano Ronaldo leads it with 183 appearances for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. Former goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who turned out for Real Madrid and FC Porto in this competition, is second with 177 appearances.
Muller has been a part of every Champions League campaign with Bayern since he signed for the club in 2008-09. He also won the competition twice, in 2012-13 and 2019-20, and ended as runners-up on two occasions (2009-10 and 2011-12). Lionel Messi, meanwhile, has won it four times with Barcelona.
Messi's legacy in the European competition goes up a notch with his 129 goals. Muller, meanwhile, has scored 57 goals in the tournament so far.
In the second leg of the UCL quarter-final Inter, the German stalwart played all 90 minutes and even donned the captain's armband. He operated as the number 10, playing behind striker Harry Kane. Muller finished the game with a passing accuracy of 83 percent but couldn't get on the scoresheet.
Thomas Muller will leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season
Whether Thomas Muller will go on to break Lionel Messi's record for appearances in the Champions League is up for debate. Bayern Munich have confirmed that he will leave the club at the end of this season.
“It’s clear that today is not like any other day for me. My 25 years as an FC Bayern Munich player will come to an end in the summer. It’s been an incredible journey, shaped by unique experiences, great encounters and unforgettable triumphs. I feel immense gratitude and joy that I got to make this career with my beloved club. The special connection to the club and our fantastic fans will always remain," Muller said, announcing his and the club's decision (via Bayern Munich's official website).
"What I want as a farewell should be clear: titles we can celebrate together, and moments we’ll remember fondly for a long time. We’re going to give our all in the coming weeks to bring the league title back to Munich and reach our coveted ‘Finale Dahoam’. Let’s do it together!” he added.
Muller will depart with his head held high. He won the Bundesliga on 12 occasions with the Bavarian giants, and the DFB Pokal six times. He has so far made 743 appearances for Bayern across all competitions, finding the back of the net 247 times and also bagging 273 assists.
Thomas Muller was highly successful for Germany too, and played a major role in them winning the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He ended the quadrennial tournament as the second-highest goal scorer (5).