Muller not in competition with new signing at Bayern Munich

Thomas Muller has rubbished reports his position at Bayern Munich is under threat after insisting he is not competing for places alongside summer signing James Rodriguez.

Bayern signed Rodriguez from Real Madrid on an initial two-year loan deal this summer and there were suggestions Muller would be forced to leave the club in search of regular first-team football.

The Germany international struggled under Carlo Ancelotti last season but the 27-year-old is not fazed by Rodriguez’s arrival and is looking forward to playing with the Colombia international and club record signing Corentin Tolisso.

“It’s always something in between, I think both players are very good,” Muller told Omnisport, via The Daily Mail. “They are both good characters. We’ve spent the last week together so we can look out for each other and have fun.

“On the pitch, they are both very important and have good qualities. They show it in every training session. So it’s more [that we will] play together than [be in] competition with each other.

“It doesn’t matter to me if I’m not the goalscorer or the playmaker. I want to help the team but I think the expectations are very high. So I need to score goals so that people are satisfied.”

Last season was Muller’s worst league campaign in front of goal in the last eight years (5 goals scored), although he did turn provider for his teammates. In fact, only RB Leipzig star Emil Forsberg (19) provided more assists in the Bundesliga than Muller (12).