Bayern Munich icon Thomas Müller to Whitecaps in latest MLS transfer blockbuster
TheMLShot stove has arguably never been hotter, with Germany and Bayern Munich icon Thomas Müller completing a move to theVancouver Whitecapsin the latest major move this summer. Müller, 35, is by some measure the biggest star in Whitecaps history, and arguably for any of Canada's three MLS clubs. He is expected to arrive in Vancouver next week for a press conference, and will train with his new teammates the next day. "I'm looking forward to coming to Vancouver to help this team win a championship," said Müller in a Whitecapspress release. "I've heard great things about the city, but first and foremost I'm coming to win. I've had great conversations with [CEO] Axel Schuster and [head coach] Jesper Sørensen, and now I can't wait to play in front of the supporters and to see all of the fans come out to BC Place as we head towards the playoffs." Müller is an all-time great at Bayern, which has long dominated German soccer. A native of the club's home state of Bavaria, Müller joined Bayern's academy as a 10-year-old, spending 25 years with one of Europe's biggest clubs. During that time, Müller played in 756 games (more than anyone in team history), scoring 250 goals. Müller lifted 33 trophies as a Bayern player, including 23 in major competitions like the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, and FIFA Club World Cup. His final appearance in a Bayern shirt came on July 5 in Bayern's 2-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain during this summer's Club World Cup. The attacker joins a Vancouver side in the midst of their best season since joining MLS in 2011. The Whitecaps currently sit second in the Western Conference on 45 points, one behind impressive expansion side San Diego FC (with the Canadians holding a game in hand). The 2014 World Cup winner is not the only major star to join an MLS team recently. One of Vancouver's major competitors in the Western Conference,LAFC, is set to announce Son Heung-minon Wednesday after putting up the largest transfer fee in MLS history to sign the former Tottenham captain. In July, Inter Miami signed Argentina midfielderRodrigo De Paul, adding to a star-studded roster that includes Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba. Here's what to know about Bayern Munich star Thomas Müller's move to MLS with the Vancouver Whitecaps: Leagues Cup:Inter Miami vs. Pumas UNAM: Time, TV, is Lionel Messi playing tonight? Thomas Müller's move to the Vancouver Whitecaps seems like the simplest thing in the world: he's a free agent, the Whitecaps came up with a contract offer to his liking, and Vancouver has the roster space necessary to add an international player. However, MLS is among the world's most complicated leagues, with a rulebook that could rival the NFL's in some ways. While the on-field rules are still simple — outside of some very minor tweaks regarding things like players leaving the field quickly when substituted, MLS has not modified the sport of soccer — the regulations regarding roster rules, player transfers, and assets used are all notoriously convoluted. In this case, Vancouver is having to jump through two separate hoops. First, to sign Müller at all, they needed to make a separate, asset-for-assettrade with FC Cincinnatithanks to MLS's "discovery priority" rules. Discovery priority — essentially a formalized process of calling dibs on first rights among MLS teams to negotiate with a player — exists to keep MLS teams from bidding against one another when pursuing players who are not currently in the league. It's a holdover from the league's early days, when team owners and league officials could remember the demise of the original North American Soccer League in the mid-1980s. NASL teams spent beyond their means on players, with the league eventually folding as a result. In Müller's case, FC Cincinnati had the top discovery claim on him, which makes for an awkward fit on the surface. After all, how can any MLS team "discover" a global star who has won the biggest competitions in the sport? Furthering the confusion, MLS teams have long figured out that you can still offer hypothetical terms to a player without having discovery priority, as long as you can also afford to make a deal to acquire top dibs somewhere along the way. Despite the problems with nomenclature, the issue here was simple: Cincinnati had genuine interest in signing Müller, and MLS rules require teams with discovery priority to either seriously pursue signing the player in question, or hand the right to negotiate over to another team. Cincinnati reportedly made a serious push to sign Müller, as did other clubs around the world, but ultimately the Bayern legend preferred the offer from the Whitecaps. Cincinnati confirmed on Wednesday that they had received $400,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM, one of several intra-MLS assets that operate like currency for trades, temporary salary cap expansion, and more). In the Müller deal, Vancouver is sending $200,000 in 2025 GAM, $100,000 in 2026 GAM — teams are allocated a base amount of GAM every season, along with additional GAM depending on competitive outcomes — and a potential for $100,000 more from their GAM stockpile to Cincinnati in 2026 if certain, unspecified conditions are met. Believe it or not, this is the state of play after MLS has taken steps to simplify its rules and add transparency. That includesallowing teams to trade actual dollars for playersfor the first time, which has already been used for several multi-million moves, including FC Cincinnati bringingMVP candidate Evanderover from the Portland Timbers for $12 million in February. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Thomas Muller joins Vancouver Whitecaps in major MLS transfer
Bayern Munich icon Thomas Müller to Whitecaps in latest MLS transfer blockbuster TheMLShot stove has arguably never been hotter, with German...
