Bayern Munich: Thomas Muller deserved to be in Ballon d’Or top-30 list

Thomas Muller looked shell-shocked while talking to the media on Wednesday when Bayern Munich was handed their biggest defeat in DFB Pokal by Borussia Monchengladbach. The German forward, like his teammates, had a rare poor day in the office.

Just like he has done on numerous occasions, Muller bounced back brilliantly on Saturday as he helped Die Roten to get back on track with a 5-2 win against Union Berlin in the Bundesliga. The German forward managed to set up three goals and scored one for Rekordmeister on Saturday.

Apart from scoring and creating goals, Thomas Muller worked hard in the final third to help the team to press better from the front. Responding to adversity has been the feature of Muller’s career in Bavaria. He bounced back strongly on Saturday, just like he did in 2019 after going through a rough patch in his career.

After being on the fringes of the first team during the last few months of Niko Kovac’s tenure at the club, Muller has gone on to become one of the best number tens in the world. Muller has been creating goals at an insane rate in the Bundesliga and Champions League. He currently has the most number of assists in Europe for club and country since 2020.

The German forward also broke Kevin De Bruyne’s record of most assists in a single Bundesliga campaign during the 2019/20 campaign. Along with assists, Muller has also come up with big goals for Die Roten in crunch situations.

Muller’s goals and assists have helped Rekordmeister to win the sextuple under Hansi Flick, making them the second club after Barcelona to achieve this feat in Europe. He set the tempo for Bayern’s charge for the Champions League title in the 2019/20 campaign by becoming a hardworking creative force in the final third.

The staggering numbers and incredible collective achievements to which Muller heavily contributes make his omission from the final 30 list of Ballon d’Or even more staggering. The German Champions has only Robert Lewandowski as a club representative on this list.

Moreover, Muller has also been performing brilliantly under Julian Nagelsmann. Muller currently has six goals and nine assists in 16 appearances across all competitions. His work rate and immense output make him a dream player for any coach. The German international has enjoyed a renaissance in his career over the last couple of years, which surely deserved recognition. (Stats courtesy: Whoscored)