Worst clickbait ever? Spanish outlet claims Thomas Müller could leave Bayern Munich to join FC Barcelona

Normally something like this would get dumped straight in the Schmankerl, but this one was so absurd that we simply had to write it up.

A piece published by Spanish newspaper Sport makes the case for FC Barcelona to sign Thomas Müller next summer. The reasoning? His Bayern Munich contract expires after this year, after which he’ll become a free agent.

That’s it.

The report is little more than a list of sixteen free agents for next summer, with Müller at #7 on the list. This was picked up by an unscrupulous FCB news Twitter account, with a misleading tweet that has been viewed over 250k times.

One cursory look at the Sport page makes it clear that Barcelona are not monitoring any of those players, but the damage is done. Going into the replies and quote tweets, it’s impossible to find anyone actually questioning the validity of the report. This is how transfer rumors spread on social media — one big page posts it, and then it’s disseminated to the masses.

As for the newspaper itself, Diario Sport is a Spanish daily newspaper based out of Barcelona itself. If you’re working there, you should know better than to put Thomas Müller of all people on a list of potential recruits for FC Barcelona. In the Champions League, there is not a single player with a better record against the Catalans than Müller himself. He has singlehandedly scored eight goals and registered two assists in nine games against the 2nd FCB, including MotM performances in 2013 (for a 7-0 aggregate scoreline) and 2020 (leading to the infamous 8-2 game).

Aside from Cristiano Ronaldo, it is hard to think of any player that Barcelona fans would be less likely to welcome at the Spotify Camp Nou. However, this does not mean that Müller would be completely bereft of supporters at Barca — there’s always his erstwhile colleague Robert Lewandowski, who moved there a year ago. Perhaps Lewy would appreciate the service, give that his goalscoring form has collapsed since the turn of the year — he always did rely on Müller’s excellent eye for an assist.

Help Barcelona afford Lewy’s transfer fee (plus bonuses) by checking out our podcast! This week we talk about Germany’s crushing loss to Japan, why Hansi Flick had to go, potential replacements, and how much blame the players deserve. Listen to it below or directly on Spotify.

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