Bayern Munich is the most successful club in German football history, having amassed 32 league titles – including ten back-to-back Bundesliga titles between 2012 and 2022. To match this success rate, the club invests in some of the best players in the world. From players like Franz Beckenbauer to Thomas Muller, who are some of the best Bayern Munich players to have played at the Allianz Arena?
Best Bayern Munich Players
1. Gerd Müller
Many consider Gerd Müller the best Bayern Munich player and one of the best strikers world football has ever seen. The marksman scored 398 goals in 453 games, earning him the nickname Der Bomber.
He also held the record for the most goals scored in a single season (40) until Polish striker Robert Lewandowski came along.
Internationally, Gerd netted 68 goals in 62 games which explains why he ranks as an all-time great.
2. Arjen Robben
We never got tired of his run down the right wing, the cut back, and the fierce resulting shot, which almost always ended up in a goal.
The Dutchman is one of the best players for the German club. He joined in 2009 from Real Madrid and made 201 appearances scoring 99 goals.
Robben was a starter for the Oranje and was capped 96 times, scoring 37 goals, and winning nearly every trophy with Bayern.
3. Franz Beckenbauer
He is one of the finest defenders of all time. Fondly known as Der Kaiser, Beckenbauer is credited for inventing the libero playing style, where he launched attacks from a defensive position.
He also won everything there is to win in football: three European cups, four Bundesliga titles, and a world cup.
Beckenbauer made 572 appearances and scored 83 goals for Bayern. For Germany, he played 103 times and scored 14 goals.
4. Franck Ribery
The Frenchman joined a long list of Bayern Munich legends, having been one of the most prolific players at the club.
Ribery was deployed on the left wing whenever he was fit and produced 124 goals in 452 appearances. He won nine Bundesliga titles, a Champions League, and six DFB Pokals with the club.
5. Phillip Lahm
This list is incomplete without Europe’s best modern-day defenders. Lahm could play on the right, left, and even in midfield.
He was handed the armband in 2010 and led the club to a treble two years later, eight Bundesliga titles and six DFB Pokals.
Internationally, he was part of the all-conquering German side that won Brazil’s 2014 FIFA World Cup.
6. Bastian Schweinsteiger
Nicknamed the ‘football god,’ he was a master in the midfield, representing Bayern 342 times and scored 45 goals.
In 2013, he won the German Player of the year award; the following year, he won the World Cup with Germany. Do you remember the cut under his eye? All these are why he is one of FC Bayern Munich’s best players.
7. Thomas Müller
Years after the ‘original Müller’, if you like, left his mark on the club, Bayern found another one within its academy who undoubtedly makes it into the list of Bayern legends.
Thomas Müller doesn’t seem to get old. He is a proven goal poacher, known for ghosting and creating space where other players struggle.
He’s scored 228 goals in 629 games so far. Unfortunately, Müller seems forgotten in conversations about football’s best players.
8. Robert Lewandowski
OK. All seven players listed above are German nationals. The main reason for that is Bayern Munich tends to be the feeder club for Die Mannschaft.
That said, Lewandowski is one of Bayern Munich’s best players ever. Lewandowski signed for Bayern from rival club Borussia Dortmund and, at his former employer’s expense, won everything.
Of course, one of his, if not the most outstanding honor was breaking Gerd Muller’s 40 goals in a single season record. In 2021, he scored 41 goals and brought his 49-year record to an end.
9. Oliver Khan
Khan is not only one of Bayern Munich’s best players but also one of the most decorated goalkeepers in the history of the sport.
His presence on the pitch is hard to ignore for a game that seems to have forgotten those who play at the back in favor of more flashy players.
He won eight Bundesliga titles, one UEFA Cup and Champions League, and six DFB Pokals. He also won Europe’s Best Goalkeeper four times and German Player of the Year twice.
10. Uli Hoenness
His achievements might not dwarf the other Bayern Munich players on this list, but he did enough to warrant being among Bayern Munich legends.
He won three European Cups, three Bundesliga titles, and a DFB Pokal in his relatively short career. Hoeness scored 86 goals in 239 starts. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury that forced him to retire at 27.
Despite that, he reinvented himself in the minds of Bayern Munich players and fans. He worked as the clubs’ commercial and marketing manager and has led the club to great financial success, achieving even more success as Bayern’s general manager.
Conclusion
Special shoutouts go to Stefan Effenberg, Paul Breitner, Lothar Matthaus, and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Unfortunately, we only have ten slots, and it’s always tricky to slot everyone (past and present).