Waiting for Thomas Muller and Luka Modric's "Last Dance"

Two veteran players, Thomas Mueller and Luka Modric, are set to play their final matches with their clubs in the 2025 Club World Cup. Mueller does not want to miss the opportunity to provide one last trophy to his lifelong club, Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, Modric aims to conclude his illustrious career with Real Madrid by securing a world champion title.

Mueller is an anomaly in the current era of modern football. He has remained loyal to a single club, Bayern, throughout his professional football career, which began in 2008. For 17 years, Mueller has consistently been included in the squad list of "Die Roten" across all competitions.

If combined with his tenure at Bayern since attending the Bayern football academy, Mueller has been in the environment of the most successful club in Germany for 25 years. It seems difficult for future generations of new players to match the duration of service of the 35-year-old player to Bayern.

It is no surprise that Mueller has established himself as the player with the most appearances for Bayern. In total, he has represented Bayern in 751 matches. Averaging this over his 18-year professional career, Mueller has played an average of 42 matches per season.

This demonstrates Mueller's commitment as well as his level of fitness, allowing him to perform consistently over a long period. He has also contributed 13 Bundesliga trophies to Bayern, the most recent of which was awarded in the 2024-2025 season. A total of 33 trophies have been lifted by Mueller while wearing the Bayern jersey.

Even more amazingly, Mueller was part of two treble winners, winning three major Bayern trophies. The special moments were experienced in the 2012-2013 and 2019-2020 seasons.

In the Club World Cup, Mueller will certainly increase the number of matches with Bayern. He will be one of the main pillars of Bayern under the command of Vincent Kompany to compete in Group C alongside Benfica (Portugal), Boca Juniors (Argentina), and Auckland City (New Zealand).

Mueller's role remains very important for Bayern, especially since the young attacking midfielder, Jamal Musiala, has not fully recovered from his injury. Due to Mueller's significant role, Bayern has also included him in the promotion of their latest home jersey.

When asked about Bayern's goal in the Club World Cup during an interview on FIFA TV, Mueller succinctly replied, "To be champions, of course."

"First of all, we must quickly adapt to the tournament atmosphere. Given that this tournament is being held in the host country of next year's World Cup, it makes us very excited," Mueller continued.

Mueller has confirmed that he will not return to the United States with the German national team next year. He has stepped down from the German national team following the Euro 2024 tournament. He scored 45 goals in 131 appearances for "Die Mannschaft."

The blonde-haired, cheerful player will leave Bayern after completing the Club World Cup. As a result, Die Roten's achievements will affect the duration of additional matches for Mueller before departing from his favorite club.

Mueller emphasized that anything related to his professional future will not affect his performance in the final tournament representing Bayern. He set aside negotiations with new clubs to undertake a special "final dance" for Die Roten.

"My main focus is the Club World Cup. If something happens regarding my future during the tournament, it will not disturb me," he stated.

Similar to Mueller, the 39-year-old Modric is also fully focused on the ultimate tournament at the 2025 Club World Cup. Modric will conclude his 13-year service—the longest in his career at a club—for "Los Blancos" in the US.

Modric has no plans to retire in the near future. This has sparked several speculations about his future. He is also rumored to be heading to AC Milan in the 2025-2026 season.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, personal contract talks between Modric and Milan are already underway. However, the player has postponed discussing the matter until after the Club World Cup.

Modric's experience on the world stage is certainly very important for the new face of Real under the guidance of Xabi Alonso. He has the experience of leading Croatia to the final of the 2018 World Cup and winning a bronze medal at the 2022 World Cup.

In addition, the FIFA Club World Cup trophy could serve as a gift of gratitude from Modric to Real. Together with Real, he experienced the title of the world's best player through the Ballon d'Or 2018.

Modric is undoubtedly the best Croatian player in history, having won 28 trophies at the club level with Real. This total includes six "Big Ears" UEFA Champions League trophies.

"(The Club World Cup) will be (my) last dance. We will do everything to bring home the trophy," Modric said as reported by Marca in late May.

Modric will assist Real in starting the competition in Group H. On paper, the three rivals of Los Blancos should not be difficult to overcome. They are Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Pachuca (Mexico), and Red Bull Salzburg (Austria).