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The Union Passing on One of the Best German Players of All Time isn’t Surprising, but it Does Make You Laugh
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There’s a story from Sky Sports Germany linking the Philadelphia Union to Thomas Muller, the 35-year-old German forward who has played more than 500 games for Bayern Munich and close to 150 for the Deutschland national team, winning everything from the World Cup and UEFA Champions League to the CWC and 13 domestic titles.
He would quite easily be the highest-profile player to ever wear a Union shirt, but Sporting Director Ernst Tanner more or less said “nah we’re good” because they can’t afford him anyway.
Google-translated quotes from the story:
“I’ve already been offered Thomas Müller. I still have a good relationship with Thomas’s advisors. But from a financial perspective, that’s absolutely unthinkable for us,” says Tanner.
…
“We’re a training club, and every year we have the second-to-last budget. You also have to think a little about the team. When someone suddenly earns much more than everyone else, you wonder why you’re even there. A big name like Thomas Müller needs to go to a club that suits him. Clubs like Los Angeles, New York, and Inter Miami with Lionel Messi would be possible options .”
“LAFC is Bayern’s partner club. I would be surprised if he didn’t move there. A move to a New York club is just as unsuitable in my opinion as a transfer to Inter Miami.”
This is nothing new. Ernst is telling Sky Sports Germany the same thing he’s told us and everyone for years. The Union don’t pursue superstars and they don’t pay big-money salaries and big-money transfer fees. They play German Red Bull Moneyball and develop homegrown talent while signing young foreigners from Europe and South America. Then they sell those players for a profit and continue the churn.
Go figure, of course, that they’re currently first place in Major League Soccer through 18 games while playing a high-energy, grinder style devoid of high-profile, marketable superstars. It’s the same strategy that was good enough to win them the 2020 Supporters’ Shield and the same strategy that got them to MLS Cup in 2022 while they were screwed out of their second Shield due to fugazi MLS tiebreaker rules.
So it’s hard to be offended or miffed by something that does not come as a surprise. This is what the Philadelphia Union are and always have been, even before Tanner’s arrival seven seasons ago. They weren’t signing Thierry Henry and Robbie Keane in 2010 and they aren’t signing Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets now. They have a clear identity and they do exactly what they tell us they are going to do.
But we can disagree with the strategy, transparent as it is, and from an optics perspective, the thought of simply passing on Thomas Muller is incredible. It’s Thomas Muller! Quite easily a top-15 player in German footballing history. He’s 35 now, and his legs aren’t what they used to be, but there’s not a single person on the planet who thinks that Muller can’t improve a title contender. You could add him tomorrow, put him in one of the forward spots, and continue to roll right along with a fan base that’s now REALLY into it. And let’s not act like adding Muller is going to turn the locker room upside down. This isn’t David Beckham earning a bazillion dollars in 2007 while three teammates share an apartment in Manhattan Beach. Plus, you look at what Miami has done since adding a bunch of Barcelona superstars and ask yourself if they were worried about the impact of Messi, Busquets, Luis Suarez, and Jordi Alba on the locker room. One would think that two trophies in two years makes up for some of the lesser earners having their feelings hurt.
The genesis of the disagreement is that Philadelphia fans and media typically come from the Herman Edwards school of thought. You play to win the game! The framed jerseys of the Aaronson brothers are nice, but we want trophies, not developmental success stories, and we don’t care about Jay Sugarman’s financial portfolio. The one thing that killed the Union in 2023 and 2024 is that they failed to invest, to build on the amazing team that scored 72 goals and finished +46 in goal differential. Then they petered out and guys like Brujo Martinez and Julian Carranza were sold. So we’re not asking the Union to throw tens of millions of dollars at Designated Players in the hopes of being competitive, we’re looking at a team that once again is in a great position to win a trophy and asking Tanner and ownership to do what’s required to get over the hump and win it all. That’s the Zeitgeist in 2025, same as it was in 2023, but they seem intent on doing it their way and we’ll find out soon enough if they once again run into the ceiling, or finally break through.
Addendum: The thought of a Philly player-personnel director saying “well he should go to LA or maybe somewhere else” is comical. Imagine John Middleton saying “well maybe this guy should go sign for the Dodgers.” Phillies fans would rightfully excoriate.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com