Bayern Munich star Thomas Muller claims modern-day football is ‘too SOFT for me’, as he insists ‘toughness has its charm’ and urges players to cope with it or they ‘won’t get far’

Bayern Munich legend Thomas Muller believes modern-day football has become ‘too soft’.

Muller has spent 15 years in Bayern’s senior team, winning 12 Bundesliga titles and the Champions League twice, while he has 126 caps for Germany and lifted the World Cup in 2014.

Having spent so long at the very top, Muller has offered his thoughts on the current state of the game, admitting he has his concerns as he called for players to toughen up.

‘Here at FC Bayern, we are at the top of the football food chain. There’s no room for “he doesn’t take the coach’s decision well”,’ Muller told Sport Bild.

‘I have to be honest and say that today’s football is sometimes too soft for me. Toughness has its charm. It doesn’t have to be inhumane, but coaches should be allowed to show a certain level of toughness with their players.

He believes players need to be tougher to accept criticism from coaches

‘As a player, you have to be able to put up with that or you won’t get far.’

Despite pointing out potential problems in football, Muller has no intention of hanging up his boots any time soon.  

He signed a contract extension last month that will keep him at Bayern until June 2025.

The 34-year-old has scored 237 goals and registered 263 assists in 686 appearances for the German giants and still feels he has plenty to offer Thomas Tuchel’s side, but insists he should never be compared to the sport’s all-time greats.

‘We have great attacking players at FC Bayern, the competition is big. I think I’ve shown this season that I can still provide the decisive spark and bring a different type of player to our attacking line,’ he said.

‘I want to build on the two games before Christmas and then we’ll see. But the fact is that no matter what the coach decides game by game, every little thing at FC Bayern will be questioned from the outside anyway.

‘I once read that I have more goal involvements than Zinedine Zidane. But I won’t be kidding myself – for the magic of the game and the aesthetics of football, magicians like Messi or Zidane are a completely different category to me.’