Bayern Munich have officially unveiled a statue of the club legend which stands outside their home ground. The sculpture by artist Karel Fron honours one of the most successful footballers in German football history.

Bayern commemorate a legend

On Tuesday September 12, Bayern, in cooperation with the Kurt Landauer Foundation, inaugurated a statue honouring the legend of the country's multiple champions, and a true giant of German football in general, Gerd Müller. The sculpture, which stands proudly along Allianz Arena promenade, was created by artist Karel Fron and funded by donations from the Bavarians' supporters and their fan clubs.

© Marco Verch

Made entirely of bronze, the statue depicts Müller with his hands raised as the striker used to celebrate scoring a goal.  Uli Hoeneß gave an official speech about his one-time partner from the pitch. At FC Bayern you always have to preserve what was and what is. Gerd was an incredible player - and a great person who we will never forget. Today is a venerable day to remember him. He and Franz Beckenbauer are the icons 'that FC Bayern has produced, - said the honorary president in front of around 220 invited guests, including Uschi Müller and many former teammates of the legendary striker, such as supervisory board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. The bronze statue, which is one and a half times the size of the footballer who is being honoured, measures 4.2 metres high including the diamond-shaped plinth and weighs around one tonne.

What Müller achieved in his career?

Gerd Müller started playing professionally in 1960 at TSV 1861 and moved to Bayern in 1964, with whom he won almost every possible trophy in European football in the 1960s and 1970s. In total, he played 427 games for the Munich team in the German top-flight, in which he scored 365 goals.

In the 1971/1972 season, he scored 40 goals in domestic competition, which became a record for many years. It was broken in the 2020/2021 season by Robert Lewandowski, who scored 41 goals. Furthermore, Müller held the record for effectiveness at the European competition level for a long time,  He scored 69 goals in 77 games. In 2010, this number was surpassed by Raul. The striker also played 62 games for the German national team and scored 68 goals. During his career, Müller won four Bundesliga championships, a further four German Cups, as well as lifting the European Cup three times with Bayern and becoming European and World Champion with Germany.

© Allianz Arena / B. Ducke

The footballer finished his career in the United States in the late 1970s, where he spent three seasons with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Müller died in the summer of 2021 at the age of 75.