Bayern Munich hold a hallowed level of respect in the lore of world football.
They are one of the clubs players from around the world aspire to play for one day, and while the lack of success of other Bundesliga clubs has caused Die Roten to fall behind the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona in terms of popularity, their credibility and respect remain as high as ever.
Winning in a dominant fashion is synonymous with this historic club, and so many wonderful footballers have created this winning tradition in Bavaria over the decades.
Bayern always boast the best players in Germany and are Champions League contenders every single season.
So let’s honor Germany’s richest and most powerful club by taking a look at the 10 best players to ever grace the pitch with a Bayern Munich kit on their backs.
10. Arjen Robben
At one point, Arjen Robben was the third-best player in the world, surpassed by only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. His signature move, cutting inside and unleashing a spellbinding rocket into the far corner, was so unstoppable and inevitable that it became an enduring meme.
You cannot tell the story of world football in the late 2000s and early 2010s without extensively discussing Robben’s exploits with Franck Ribéry across from him.
Robben scored 16 goals in his first season with the Bavarians in 2009/10 and would exceed double figures six times in his career before a sendoff in 2018/19 at the age of 34.
The Dutch winger’s departure marked the end of an era, one in which Bayern were arguably the most dominant and consistent team in world football.
9. Lothar Matthäus
Lothar Matthäus had two different stints with Bayern Munich, scoring 57 goals from midfield in just 113 games from 1984 to 1988.
After posting similarly impressive numbers for Inter Milan, Matthäus moved back to the Bundesliga for the final chapter of his career, producing a level of longevity that should be the envy of almost every other midfielder in the history of the game.
In his second chapter with the club, Matthäus transformed his game to become more of a deep-lying playmaker and defensive presence, eventually becoming a full-on sweeper. It is a position of historic significance for Bayern and one that Matthäus fulfilled with aplomb.
Regarded as the best player in the world at his peak, Matthäus’ Ballon d’Or actually came in 1990 while with the Nerazzurri, but he was in the Bundesliga Team of the Year five times and the German Footballer of the Year in 1999.
8. Sepp Maier
Bayern Munich may have the best lineage of goalkeepers in world football history, even surpassing Juventus. Sepp Maier helped begin that lineage in 1962 when he joined Bayern, representing the Bundesliga powerhouse in 706 matches.
No player has suited up for Bayern more than Maier, whose cat-like reflexes helped his club win the prestigious Champions League three times.
7. Bastian Schweinsteiger
MoTrip and Lary’s “So Wie Du Bist” is one of the best German songs ever written, and perhaps it holds even fonder memories in the hearts of football fans because it was prominently used in an advert bidding farewell to Bastian Schweinsteiger, the all-action leader of those unforgettable Bayern squads in the preceding two decades.
Schweinsteiger donned the No. 7 and began his career as a winger before becoming the definition of a midfield presence.
An elite ball-winner, progressor, and creator, Schweinsteiger literally did it all for Bayern in the center of the park, unselfishly setting an example for his teammates and doing the dirty work Bayern needed so that superstars like Ribéry, Robben, and Mario Gomez could freely rack up the goals.
The 2013 German Footballer of the Year, Schweinsteiger’s legacy with Bayern cannot be measured in statistics or honors, but it is rather reflected in the success the team had with him on the pitch, as well as the unparalleled levels of respect he garnered from teammates and supporters alike.
6. Oliver Kahn
There have been many colorful characters in the history of German football, but none were quite as entertaining as Oliver Kahn. He would scream in the faces of opponents, throw his hat, and even threaten to bite people before Luis Suárez did.
But above all else, Kahn was “unschlagbar”. At his peak, he gave Bayern a sense of security that made them feel invincible, and the same went for the German national team. Kahn’s presence strengthened the back line and squad, and it also put off strikers. His “fear factor” is the strongest of any goalkeeper in history, and he rarely made mistakes to boot.
5. Robert Lewandowski
There’s a case to be made that Robert Lewandowski is the most prolific footballer to have ever played for Bayern Munich, given what he accomplished in a short period of time at the club.
Lewandowski’s free transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern flipped the paradigm of German football, dooming Dortmund to a distant second in the hierarchy.
As his five goals in nine minutes against Wolfsburg showed the world, Lewandowski was a goal-scoring machine of a different breed.
No accomplishment may have been more impressive, however, than Lewandowski bagging 41 goals in the 2020/21 season at the age of 31, breaking Gerd Müller’s single-season Bundesliga scoring record that many thought would never be broken.
That Lewandowski did it in a season in which most players were reeling from an over-burdened schedule created by the worst of the pandemic made his feat even sweeter.
Lewandowski’s departure from Bayern is a bit sour and his overall legacy with the club does not measure up to players who meant more to the supporters. However, Lewandowski’s quality on the pitch speaks for itself. He is undoubtedly one of the Bayern greats.
4. Manuel Neuer
But of all the great goalkeepers in Bayern Munich history – and really, in the history of this game – Manuel Neuer stands out as the absolute best.
Neuer redefined the position in such a lasting manner that you cannot imagine evaluating modern goalkeepers without considering them a part of a team’s possession structure.
The ultimate equalizer, Neuer could beat players on the ball like a midfielder, deftly maneuvering himself past onrushing attackers, leaving them for dead with turns and spins that only a top-class No. 8 would dare to attempt in that position. However, Neuer could pull it off, and his ball-playing ability enabled his teammates to make risky backpasses and recycle possession.
His sweeper actions were even more valuable, erasing clear goal-scoring opportunities. Neuer took calculated gambles and nearly always won them, and he had the distribution to turn those changes in possession into goals for his team.
Of course, Neuer’s shot-stopping ability was just as worthy of praise. His reflexes were second to none at his peak, as was the strength of his wrist. Never forget this stalwart save of a Cristiano Ronaldo scorcher.
3. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
Maybe the fastest player in the world in his day, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was a world-class forward who could score from virtually any position on the pitch.
A nightmare for defenses to contend with, Rummenigge scored 217 goals in his Bayern career, ranking fifth on the team’s all-time scoring chart.
Rummenigge made the Bundesliga Team of the Season eight times, won the Ballon d’Or twice, and was a runner-up once. He was the best player in the world in the early 1980s and one of the early benchmarks for being a goal-scoring forward outside of being an out-and-out 9.
2. Gerd Müller
The face of the Bundesliga, Gerd Müller’s single-season goal-scoring record may have been broken by another legendary Bayern Munich striker, but his place in club and league lore are still insurmountable.
Müller was automatic in front of goal. When he had a clear-cut chance, everyone knew the ball was going to bulge in the back of the net.
Der Bomber scored nearly a goal per game in the Champions League and for Bayern overall, bagging 568 in 611 matches with the iconic German giants.
A former Ballon d’Or winner, Müller mastered the art of playing the striker position and set an example for generations to come. A top professional and finisher, Müller also expertly used his short frame to turn past defenders, out-leverage them on loose balls, and change directions to create that little sliver for a shot on goal.
1. Franz Beckenbauer
Arguably the greatest defender of all time and on the shortlist of the very best footballers of all time at any position, Franz Beckenbauer fully earned the “Kaiser” moniker as a titanic presence for Bayern Munich from 1964 to 1977.
Beckenbauer brought the sweeper position into being as the fabled “Libero”, conquering club and international football for both Bayern and the German national team.
He won the European Championships, World Cup, and then the Champions League three times for Die Roten. Along the way, Beckenbauer picked up the Ballon d’Or twice with three additional podium finishes. He even won the World Cup in 1990 as a manager!
A different breed of center back in terms of how he added to the attack in that sweeper position, Beckenbauer, likewise, set an example that would be followed by players in coming generations.
You can’t talk about Sergio Ramos, for example, without describing Beckenbauer and what he did as a leader, defender, “quarterback” on the ball, and even as a goal-scorer (74 goals in his Bayern career).
