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Fresh off the back of winning a 10th Bundesliga title in a row, Thomas Muller has announced that he will play on at Bayern Munich until 2024 after signing a one-year contract extension with the club. The new deal is likely to extend the 32-year-old's careerlong association with Bayern into a 24th year, after he first joined the youth ranks of the club he supported as a boy at the age of 10 in the year 2000. Of course, this being Muller, the announcement of his big news was broken in off-kilter, light-hearted fashion as the veteran posed for a throwback photo shoot on a set which was a recreation of his childhood bedroom. - ESPN+ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more (U.S.)
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- Don't have ESPN? Get instant access The set was based on an old photo of Muller as a kid, sat on his bed wearing his red-and-blue striped 1995-97 replica shirt and no doubt dreaming of the day that he would be pulling on the Bayern jersey for real. The room was adorned with a club-branded bedspread and an old-school games console, while on the walls were lots of posters of Bayern stars from the 1990s and a league ladder. Muller even signed a copy of the contract using a crayon plucked from his adorable little Bayern-themed pencil case.  "Rebuilding my old room as a backdrop to emotionally convey today's contract extension at Bayern was a great idea," Muller said. "Really well done, right?"  No player has ever won more Bundesliga titles than Muller, who has 11 to his name including 10 consecutive championships between 2012-13 and 2021-22. Surrounded by some of the trophies that he has won for the club, Muller was joined by former Bayern stars Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic, who now serve as CEO and sporting director respectively for the Bundesliga giants.  This isn't the first time that Muller has been made to pose while unveiling a new contract, with his previous extension also being accompanied by a collection of unique images. That deal was struck in April 2020, at the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. Now that all of us are well used to the concept of social distancing, the vast gaps between Muller, Kahn and Salihamidzic don't look nearly as odd now as they did back then.  As if all the myriad trophies and accolades weren't enough, Muller can also make a strong claim to being the player who made professional football's first COVID-compliant contract announcement.
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