German soccer star Thomas Muller focused on winning titles with Vancouver Whitecaps

New Vancouver Whitecaps player Thomas Muller poses with his jersey during a news conference in Vancouver, on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. The MLS soccer club signed the 2014 World Cup champion and longtime Bayern Munich star to their roster last week in a deal that also includes a designated player option for the 2026 campaign. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER — He’s won soccer’s biggest prizes, but Thomas Muller remains hungry.

At 35 years old, the German attacking midfielder says he’s far from ready for retirement. Instead, he remains focused on winning as he makes the move to Major League Soccer, joining the Vancouver Whitecaps.

“This time for me was also a little bit for an adventure. But an adventure for me is only interesting when it’s about having the chance to go for titles,” Muller said at an introductory press conference Thursday.

“And if you watch the Vancouver Whitecaps this season and also the development in the last years, there is a chance, not only this year, also next year.”

Muller signed with the ‘Caps last week, a deal that will see him play out the 2025 season and includes a Designated Player option for the 2026 campaign.

He is the biggest star to ever join the club, having spent the past 17 years with Bayern Munich of the German Bundesliga. There, he scored 250 goals across all competitions, helping the team to 13 league championships and 33 total titles.

Muller also won the 2014 World Cup with Germany, scoring five goals in the tournament, and took home the Golden Boot from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, finishing with five goals and three assists.

His desire to be a champion hasn’t faded.

“It’s not about the winning times in the past, it’s winning titles in the future. That’s what motivates me,” Muller said. ”Or maybe it’s not about the titles, but about the competition. Competition with your team, against other teams, competition against yourself, your own competition against your teammates to earn your spot.

“And I was always a competitive guy during my whole life, and my love is to play soccer. And my body feels, even in this stage of my career, too good to retire.”

The German star joins a Whitecaps side that has exceeded expectations this season.

Vancouver has hovered near the top of the MLS standings all year and currently sits second in the Western Conference with a 13-6-6 record.

The team also impressed in CONCACAF Champions Cup play, making its way to the final where it fell 5-0 to LIGA MX’s Cruz Azul. Vancouver is chasing its fourth straight Canadian Championship title.

Adding Muller to the mix will help the Whitecaps players grow, said head coach Jesper Sorensen.

“When we got into this, my first thought was obviously ‘What can we get from Thomas that we need?’ And we can get a lot, I think,” he said. ”Experience is one thing, but the quality of play, the football IQ, the way we play is actually quite similar to the way Thomas played before.

“Also, we also need the toughness in situations where we need to get over a small hump.”

Muller is known for his work ethic and for being a great role model, Sorensen added.

“I think that will add to a team that’s already disciplined and well structured and a team that wants to work hard,” he said. ”That will just add on top of that with some extra quality. … I think it’s a great signing for us.”

The signing has already ignited a frenzy among Vancouver soccer fans.

Ticket sales for the final six home games of the regular season have spiked, said Whitecaps CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster.

Sunday’s game — where Muller is expected to make his debut against the Houston Dynamo — is sold out and the club’s fan shop has experienced record sales in recent days.

But bringing in Muller wasn’t simply about creating buzz around the team, Schuster said.

“It’s all great and it’s all a wonderful thing for everyone at this club. But I think … we deserve it," he said. “This team deserves it that we get this attention. That we have people looking at this club is only deserved because we are performing on a very, very high level since many many months in this year at least.”

Muller feels the buzz, too.

Ample fanfare greeted him Wednesday night as he landed at Vancouver International Airport, including throngs of fans waving flags and cheering as he walked through the sliding doors after clearing customs.

Indigenous leaders welcomed him and gifted him with a blanket before he shook hands with supporters, signed autographs and took selfies.

Muller then stopped by an airport restaurant to watch the Whitecaps battle Canadian Premier League side Forge FC to a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Canadian Championship semifinal series.

“I’m very proud to be in that position, with the warm welcome. It’s a special day for me today, to be here, to get to this journey,” the soccer star said.

Though he’s had just a taste of Vancouver, Muller believes if the Whitecaps can achieve something big for the city, people will respond enthusiastically.

“I want to take my part in this journey with Jesper and the team. And then we will see what’s coming end of the season,” he said. ”But I’m very happy to be here, to be honest.”

This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press, was first published Aug. 14, 2025.