Vancouver Whitecaps’ Thomas Muller is the star the MLS needs

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Listen, let’s be clear about Lionel Messi: On the field, the guy is amazing. He’s been the star of stars for what seems like forever.

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He has done incrdible things for Major League Soccer since arriving in 2023. His signing by the league was massive — and it included a cut of the then-new Apple TV deal, with incentives around new fan recruitment.

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He was brought in to push MLS even further beyond the somewhat quaint little league that David Beckham joined in 2007, followed later by the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2011. In the decade-plus since those days, the league has become one where money talks — but if you’re smart in how you build your team, you can still make waves.

That is what the Whitecaps have done this season. Head coach Jesper Sorensen took a team that played a fun style under Vanni Sartini and refined it, while he was also given speedy weapons in the likes of Emmanuel Sabbi, Jayden Nelson and Tate Johnson.

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And then there’s Thomas Müller, who is the kind of global superstar that Whitecaps fans only dreamed about joining their team. And yet he did — and everyone is better for it.

Everyone, as in the Whitecaps, their fans, and the rest of the league.

Sure, Messi brings the GOAT discussion to MLS, but he is a reserved figure, one who keeps his own company and doesn’t speak often to fans or the media. Miller is the complete opposite. He’s the definition of being comfortable in your own skin. And then some.

It’s something that Whitecaps fans have quickly picked up on. This is a guy who is happy to be photographed as he goes about his day, like the photo one fan took with him earlier this week outside the Red Burrito on Alberni Street downtown. Yes, you can find videos of Messi appearing accidentally in the background, but he is not known for the kind of chance encounters that Müller is.

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Müller met with the media before Saturday’s MLS Cup final. On the other hand, Messi is not making a general appearance with reporters. They are both marketing powerhouses, but for very different reasons.

Apple TV’s Max Bretos has been covering soccer for a long time. And the contrast to him stands out as well. It’s clear how big Müller is for North American soccer.

“Müller was just that piece that brings it all together. It’s like the old line from The Big Lebowski — like The Dude’s rug, Müller’s the guy that brings the room together,” Bretos said over the phone on Thursday.

“Let’s be clear,” he went on. “Lionel Messi has changed the league for the better, the numbers, the change of schedule, the Apple TV deal. But everything feels mysterious about him, whereas Müller and Son (Heung-min with LAFC) have just taken to their clubs, their communities.”

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Müller is just built different, as Vancouver fans have come to love, even after only four months or so with the Raumdeuter in their lives. It’s hard to fathom Müller ever finding himself in a mess like Messi and Inter Miami did with their tour to Hong Kong in 2023. Müller, we’ve come to realize, is a guy who seems to recognize every moment provides opportunity for him.

“This is a guy you just want to hang out with,” Bretos observed. “It’s the perfect player for MLS. He can build in the community, no problem. Those guys are rare. And what makes Thomas even more special is where he’s landed. Most players who come to MLS have wanted to go to L.A. or New York. But I think Müller going to Vancouver is going to have a lasting effect. Players might look at other places now, like Salt Lake, Austin, wherever.”

And that, in the end, is the point. Messi has brought the sizzle, but it’s Müller who is doing the selling, and that’s what will be remembered.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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