UEFA Champions League: Owen Hargreaves pays tribute to 'amazing pro' Thomas Muller on 'incredible career' - 'A big miss'
ByOli Gent
Updated 09/04/2025 at 00:00 GMT+1
TNT Sports expert Owen Hargreaves has praised Thomas Muller as "one of the smartest, most effective players" over the past 10 to 15 years after it was announced that the long-serving midfielder would leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season. The veteran won 12 Bundesliga titles, six DFB Pokals and two UEFA Champions Leagues across 13 years in the first-team fold at the Allianz Arena.
'He makes things happen' - Hargreaves reflects on Muller's legendary career
Video credit: TNT Sports
TNT Sports expert Owen Hargreaves has hailed Thomas Muller as "one of the smartest, most effective players" over the past decade.
Muller revealed that this season would be his last at Bayern Munich, where he has spent his entire career, and the 35-year-old will embark on a new chapter next term.
The German, who has played 743 times for the club, scoring 247 goals, has featured primarily as a substitute under new Bayern manager Vincent Kompany, and with his contract in Bavaria up at the end of the current campaign, the ‘Raumdeuter’ failed to re-negotiate a new deal.
Muller, who has lifted the UEFA Champions League twice, was named on the bench for Bayern’s quarter-final clash with Inter Milan - live on TNT Sports and discovery+ - despite first-choice No. 10 Jamal Musiala being ruled out with a hamstring tear.
Instead, Kompany plumped for natural left-back Raphael Guerreiro to feature centrally in the attacking midfield trident, flanked by Michael Olise and Leroy Sane behind lone striker Harry Kane.
But despite his lack of game time this season, former Bayern midfielder Hargreaves lauded Muller on an "incredible career" that spans 12 Bundesliga titles and six DFB Pokals to add to his two Champions League medals, and on the international stage, he won the 2014 World Cup with Germany.
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"[Despite] everything he’s won, he’s probably most known for his personality," Hargreaves said on TNT Sports.
"He’s one of the best interviewees in professional sports. He’s funny, he’s raw, he says what’s exactly happened. He’s had an incredible career. That’s an academy player, not a guy they’ve paid £100 million for.
"When you look at him play, you think, surely not. This probably shouldn't work, but he’s one of the smartest, most effective players in the last 10 to 15 years."
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Fellow TNT Sports pundit Joe Cole labelled Muller a "stunning player", but praised Kompany for refusing to give in to sentimentality and stick to his principles.
"It’s very rare that you get the fairytale finish to your career," the former Chelsea midfielder said.
"What a stunning player he is. The temptation would have been there for Kompany to throw him in, but it shows that he’s got a bit about him as well, because the easy decision would be to throw him in and see how it goes. By not playing him, Kompany’s gone, ‘This is my team.’"
Hargreaves added: "He hasn’t played as much as he would have wanted. He’s very healthy. He’s barely played this season, but he’s a player that can impact games off the bench."
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