Gerard Piqué’s departure from FC Barcelona was not an easy one. The former Manchester United center back had spent an incredible 15 years at his boyhood club, winning everything there is to win at club and country. But, encumbered by humungous burdens, the Catalan giants were struggling to carry Piqué’s big wages and so he decided to retire in midseason in 2022. Was the club pressuring him to leave? Was there some kind of issue Piqué was dealing with? Regardless, whatever the answer, this was not the goodbye Piqué was expecting to give Barcelona.

Perhaps Piqué can see some similarities between his situation then and Thomas Müller’s situation now at Bayern Munich. All week, the story that Müller will not be offered a new contract at Bayern Munich has been making the round. The Bayern legend, who has spent his entire career so far at the club, reportedly wanted to stay the club but was denied the opportunity, with the reason given being that the club needs to trim its’ wage bill and carrying Müller’s wage simply did not make financial sense.

Given how monumental this story is, Piqué decided to weigh in with his own thoughts.

“He has to do what he feels. In the end, everyone is different, everyone has different interests, and everyone has different things going on in their personal life,” the owner of the King’s League said, as captured by @iMiaSanMia. “Maybe he wants to explore different options, or maybe even end his career—that’s up to him. He certainly knows what he wants to do next. I wish him all the best because he’s a great guy.”

Hopefully Müller’s situation at Bayern ends a little more gracefully than Piqué’s did. But at least the Catalan shows that even a controversial end does not tarnish a legacy.

Thomas Müller, Mr. Bayern Munich, might not be a part of the first team squad for the first time since 2009. Müller commands an international following; the love for him comes from all corners of the world and stretches beyond Bayern. In this episode, some BFW podcasters express their feelings about Müller’s possible departure. In this episode, Chuck, Michael, Jack, Muller_Era and Samrin speak about the Raumdeuter’s possible departure as well as what he means to them personally.

Note: Everyone expressed their views at different points and not everything that has come out about the situation now was known at the time the views were expressed.