'Muller is Bayern's Messi' and 'will never leave', says Rummenigge

Manchester United were one of several clubs rumoured to have made huge bids for the striker this summer, with United reportedly making a bid of £80 million for his services.

But Muller stayed put, and has since scored eight goals across all competitions this season - even if he was outshone by Robert Lewandowski against Wolfsburg this week.

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Rummenigge said on Thursday that Muller is simply not for sale at any price.

"Muller will stay at Bayern, regardless of what any club offers," the 59-year-old told Bild.

"There is no amount that would make us consider an offer.

"Messi belongs to Barcelona, Rooney belongs to Manchester United and Muller belongs to Bayern. It should stay like that.

"There might be players out there who have a better technique and who are faster, but there is no second Thomas Muller in this world.

"He is extremely valuable to us. He represents the Mia San Mia feeling at Bayern."

'No second Thomas Muller' is spot on, because when you break down his attributes it's almost absurd that he's risen to where he is. Speed, technique, power... Muller has none of it, at least not in quantities that would make him anything other than a solid top flight player.

What makes him a world class player, then? Quite simply his unerring knack of being in the right place at the right time, particularly in important matches (as his World Cup record demonstrates nicely). That is the rarest of qualities - Cantona had it, for example - and Bayern are probably quite right to say that he must stay at all costs.