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Bayern Munich, Germany great Gerd Muller tributes: 'A true icon of the game'

The announcement on Sunday that Germany and Bayern Munich great Gerd Muller had died at the age of 75 was met with tributes from across the soccer world.

Bayern, the club where he won three European Cups, five Bundesliga titles and five DFB-Pokals between 1964 and 1979, broke the news that their former striker had died.

Muller, known as Der Bomber, also won the European Championship in 1972 and the World Cup two years later for West Germany. He scored the winning goal in the 1974 final in Bayern's stadium.

Muller's haul of 365 goals in the Bundesliga remains a record more than 40 years after he last played in the German league, and his single-season record of 40 goals in the competition was only bettered last season by Robert Lewandowski.

Muller has long been regarded as one of the greatest goal scorers ever to play the game, and he leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of goals and trophies at the highest level. He stands alongside Pele, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as one of only seven men's players to have scored more than 700 career goals for club and country. 

Several of Bayern's rival clubs, both at home and abroad, offered their condolences.

Muller retired in 1981, after a spell in the United States with NASL side Fort Lauderdale Strikers. There can be no disputing his status as one of the all-time greats.

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