"Raumdeuter" did what he does best – found new space

Thomas Muller's departure from Bayern Munich after 25 years could have — and perhaps should have — been more graceful. Instead, it left a bitter taste and the impression that the Bavarian club didn’t say goodbye to its legend in a manner befitting a man who scored 150 goals in 503 appearances and played a role in 33 club trophies.

The stumbling block was the contract extension. Bayern did not want to renew it, with the board believing that Muller’s 17 million was too much for a 36-year-old who was expected to serve primarily as an impact substitute.

He did it his way: Muller goes to MLS, but not to Bayern Munich's partner club

Still, the world’s most famous Raumdeuter ("interpreter of space") wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the game. The seasoned attacker has become a new member of Vancouver Whitecaps, a move he confirmed himself on social media.

Fans in North America will now have the chance to witness one of the most unique footballers of the last two decades. True, the pace and agility are no longer there (not that they ever were particularly remarkable even in his younger days), but there’s no doubt MLS defenders will have serious headaches trying to deal with a Muller who has packed his most valuable footballing skill in his suitcase.

He’ll try to pass that skill on to American audiences, though it's questionable how well they’ll grasp it — after all, the league has never hosted a player quite like him. Even though some of the biggest names in world football have graced MLS in their later years, none of them brought Muller’s unique playing style.

It’s not yet known how long Muller’s contract will be, but one thing is certain: he’s not done yet. He wants to go another round and prove Bayern’s leadership wrong for suggesting he consider transitioning into a non-playing role at the club. After all, he didn’t look out of place even during the Club World Cup.

If nothing else, he won’t be lacking a competitive environment — Vancouver is aiming for the title. And it’s hard to imagine they could have brought in a player with more silverware in his DNA than Thomas Muller.