One of football’s most prolific strikers, Gerd Muller has died aged 75.
His former club, Bayern Munich announced his passing in a Sunday statement.
“Today the world of FC Bayern stands still. The German record champions and his entire fan base mourn Gerd Muller, who died early Sunday morning at the age of 75,” a tweet on the club’s official Twitter page read.
Muller scored the match winner as West Germany saw off Netherlands 2-1 to clinch the 1974 World Cup title.
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The 43rd-minute goal was one of 68 he scored in 62 appearances for West Germany.
Muller, who battled dementia towards the tail-end of his life, is survived by wife Uschi and one daughter.
He joined Bayern in the summer of 1964 and won the Intercontinental Cup, three European Cups and a European Cup Winners’ Cup as well as the Bundesliga and DFB Cup four times each.
Muller won the Golden Boot for netting 10 goals at the 1970 World Cup and scored a record 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and 66 goals in 74 European matches during his 15 years at Bayern.
He also held the record for the most goals in a calendar year after scoring 85 in 1972 until Lionel Messi surpassed his total in 2012.
Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn said, “The news of Gerd Müller’s death deeply saddens us all.
“He’s one of FC Bayern’s biggest legends, and his achievements are unmatched to this day. He will always be a big part of FC Bayern’s club history and German football’s too.”
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