Germany and Bayern Munich legend Gerd Muller has passed away, aged 75, the Bundesliga club has confirmed.
Muller is one of European football’s greatest ever goalscorers, with 566 goals in all competitions over 15 years for Bayern.
He also hit 68 goals in just 62 caps for Die Mannschaft, and was only recently surpassed by Miroslav Klose in 2014, who retired with 71 goals.
Among Muller's major honours at international level were a World Cup, where he scored the winning goal in the 1974 final against the Netherlands.
He also amassed many honours with Bayern, including three European Cups, four German league titles and four DFB Cups.
A statement on the website read: “Today the world of FC Bayern stands still. The German record champions and its entire fan base mourn Gerd Müller who died early Sunday morning at the age of 75.
“Gerd Müller made history with the German record champions and the German national team. He scored an unbelievable 566 goals in 607 competitive games for FC Bayern and set the unprecedented record of 365 goals in the Bundesliga, he also secured the top scorer seven times. For the DFB selection, he scored 68 times in 62 missions.”
Bayern’s president Herbert Hainer said of the devastating news: “Today is a sad, black day for FC Bayern and all of its fans. Gerd Müller was the greatest striker there has ever been – and a fine person, a personality in world football. We are united in deep sorrow with his wife Uschi and his family. Without Gerd Müller, FC Bayern would not be the club we all love today. His name and the memory of him will live on forever.”
Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn added: “The news of Gerd Müller’s death affects us all deeply. He is one of the greatest legends in the history of FC Bayern, his achievements are unmatched to this day and will forever be part of the great history of FC Bayern and all of German football. As a player and as a person, Gerd Müller stands like no other for FC Bayern and its development into one of the largest clubs in the world. Gerd will be in our hearts forever.”
