Exclusive: Thomas Müller Plots MLS Success, Ready to Rival Lionel Messi in Vancouver

For Thomas Müller, winning is everything, but so is making a difference on and off the pitch.

The former Bayern Munich legend, famously dubbed “Ich bin ein Raumdeuter” (“I am a space interpreter”), attended his first training session with the Vancouver Whitecaps this week and spoke exclusively to SportsBoom.com about his new adventure in Major League Soccer.

“I’m very proud of this time, but for me it was also time for a bit of an adventure but an adventure for me is only interesting for me when having the chance to go for titles and if you watch the Vancouver Whitecaps this season and also the development in the last years, there is a chance not just this year but next year," Müller told SportsBoom.com. 

Adapting to North American Soccer

The Whitecaps currently sit second in the Western Conference after 25 games, with 13 wins, six draws, and six losses, totalling 45 points. 

Müller believes the club’s strong core of players and solid foundations make them a genuine contender.

The German arrives with a staggering résumé, 250 goals across all competitions, 13 Bundesliga titles, 33 trophies in total, including two Champions League wins in 2013 and 2020.

“In the end I’m here for playing soccer. I was used to playing football but now I’m playing soccer, and I would love it. I texted with some guys from the team and I watched the Cup game yesterday in the airport a little bit I followed it when I was on the plane so I’m into it, want to get into it and I can be happy I joined the group now maybe at the most interesting stage of the season so Jesper and the team did a great job and we want to continue.”

“I hope I will adapt very quickly I don’t know how many days I will need to get closer to the group, to get closer to the league but I’m fit, and I want to go full.”

The Whitecaps’ next challenge is at home on Sunday, August 17th, against the Houston Dynamo, who sit 12th in the standings.

Buying Into Vancouver’s Vision

Müller says he was convinced by the blueprint presented by head coach Jesper Sorensen and Sporting Director/CEO Axel Schuster.

“These two guys [Jesper Sorensen, head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps and Sporting Director and Chief Executive Officer Axel Schuster] showed me their ideas their plans and I felt quite comfortable from the beginning and the second step was that Vancouver is already known in the whole world as one of the best cities in the world so that’s the second part but the main part is the football and the soccer pitch and I think that the group not only do we have good players there are really good people as well."

"I’m looking forward to get something new, something fresh I don’t know, I haven’t experienced it yet but yeah I’m very looking forward to it," said Müller, who spent 17 seasons in the Bundesliga, making 503 appearances and scoring 150 goals.

The 131-cap German international, who netted 45 times for his country, says his competitive spirit still burns brightly.

“Competition with your team, against other teams, your own competition against yourself, your own competition against your teammates to earn your spot and I was always a competitive guy during my whole life, my love is that to play soccer and my body feels in my stage of my career too good to retire. I’m very motivated and happy to be here.”

A New Challenge, and Messi

Müller says the timing of his MLS switch makes it even more exciting, with Vancouver hosting World Cup matches in 2026.

"It’s very interesting to be in this league, the upcoming year, the World Cup, Vancouver is also a hosting city so maybe the whole world is a little bit watching a little bit more and more as a football city and I want to take my part to grow it a little bit but I’m not here to grow it I’m here to perform and without performance I want to be able to grow it so that’s my approach.”

He also believes he can go toe-to-toe with the league’s best, including Inter Miami star Lionel Messi, and insists artificial turf will be no obstacle.

"You have to prove it every day especially in top sports, leagues I think I have it all, but we will find out if I can adapt to the league, to the teams but that’s the interesting part.” 

“We played in the countryside a lot of cows there, a lot of green grass and on artificial turf and in my youth, we played on this artificial grass on this turf, so I have no problems with it my knees are like knees from a 15-year-old guy the Doctor said so knees are not the problem.”

“I think that I would have no problem to adapt normally with this type of turf it is a good thing for the passing isn’t it because you can pass quickly. I’m not on the turf right now normally on artificial grass you can have nice combinations so it’s better than normal turf, but we will find out.”

Settling Into Vancouver Life

The 35-year-old is eager to integrate into the club and the city.

“Open minded people here in Vancouver, open minded hearts here in Vancouver but I will find out eh if it is right here but I have the feeling yes and to be honest my focus is to get as quick as possible to the team and get to know the people I’m living with day by day so there is no doubts or any restrictions that I will adapt to the city very quickly. I’m a very open-minded humble guy so I think that I will find friends very quickly.”

And when it comes to playing style, Müller is ready to stamp his influence.

"Our playing style and we play active and that’s what I love for my whole career to be active, active soccer to have the foot on the gas and to control the game and in any stage of the game you need to find different solutions sometimes you’ll need to sit back, getting to the opponent’s goal, scoring goals if I watch a game and I talk to Jesper we were aligned and we think very similar about the game."

Sorensen: “Extraordinary” to Have Müller

Head coach Jesper Sorensen says signing a player of Müller’s pedigree is a landmark moment for the Whitecaps.

"There is a very good football vibe in the city, and we’ve done pretty well so far and being able to attract a player like Thomas for us is just not something you can plan for before you start like it’s just when I started out. It just speaks into who we may becoming and for us it’s extraordinary to have a player in like Thomas.”

"It should be exciting for everybody [like] the players for us who works in the daily lives in football and work to try to become better and having a player in who has played all the games you can play in this sport and hopefully we can inspire each other to become even better.”