The Bundesliga has hosted some of the most legendary players in the history of the sport. It was founded in 1963 and consists of 18 teams. This double round-robin starts the season, and then the two teams that have taken the lowest points drop automatically to 2. Bundesliga (Zweite Bundesliga).
They’re then replaced by the two best-placing teams in the 2. Bundesliga, while the team finishing in third in the division competing with that finishing in 16th in the Bundesliga enter a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off to determine which steps into the other’s theoretical shoes.
Besides the top flight, the German Bundesliga is considered one of the best in the world and is ranked on its average attendance as the best league worldwide.
It has produced some of the best footballers in the history of football and continues to churn out quality players to this day. With that said, below is an attempt at ranking the 10 best players who have asserted their presence in the Bundesliga history with their: Longevity, Performances, and Achievements.
1. Gerd Müller

Club(s): Bayern Munich
Position: Striker
Bundesliga Appearances: 427
Bundesliga Goals: 365
Bundesliga Titles: 4 (1968-69, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1973-74)

Gerd Müller wasn’t just a goal-scoring machine—he was the goal-scoring machine.
He scored 365 goals in 427 appearances, a total that remains unmatched in the history of the Bundesliga. To many, this makes him the greatest ever to have played in the league.
During his 14 seasons at Bayern Munich, Müller wasn’t a one-man show either.
He picked up 92 assists to go alongside his goals, four Bundesliga titles, four DFB-Pokal Cups, three European Cups, a European Cup Winners’ Cup, and an Intercontinental Cup.
A Ballon d’Or winner in 1970, he was Bundesliga’s top scorer seven times and claimed two European Golden Shoes. If you’re talking about legends, Müller is the name to start with.
He even made the Bayern Munich All-time XI. Oh, and for West Germany? He scored 68 goals in 62 games, helping them win the 1972 European Championship and 1974 World Cup.
2. Franz Beckenbauer

Club(s): Bayern Munich, Hamburger SV
Position: Sweeper (Libero)
Bundesliga Appearances: 424
Bundesliga Goals: 44
Bundesliga Titles: 5 (1968-69, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1973-74, 1981-82)

They didn’t call him “Der Kaiser” for nothing.
Beckenbauer redefined what it meant to be a defender. He wasn’t just about stopping attacks; he started them too. Beckenbauer’s sweeper role made him a unique blend of rock-solid defence and silky playmaking, which helped Bayern dominate the Bundesliga.
Beckenbauer spent 12 years at Bayern, then had a short spell at Hamburger SV, but it is that early time at Bayern where he won it all: a record five Bundesliga titles, four DFB-Pokal Cups, three European Cups, and an Intercontinental Cup.
The man was Germany’s footballer of the year four times and a two-time winner of the Ballon d’Or.
But he was equally influential on the international front, with wins in the 1972 European Championship and the 1974 World Cup with West Germany. His legacy? Immortal.
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3. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

Club(s): Bayern Munich
Position: Forward
Bundesliga Appearances: 310
Bundesliga Goals: 162
Bundesliga Titles: 2 (1979-80, 1980-81)

Rummenigge is not an ordinary forward; he is a striker of his day.
With brutal turn of pace and technical brilliance, not to forget the scoring touch, he was a defender’s nightmare. He won back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 1980 and 1981 and twice won the honour of being voted European Footballer of the Year during his Bayern Munich career. He also won the Ballon d’Or for those very seasons.
Rummenigge would move past defenders as if they were not there or find the net from the most impossible of angles.
His performances were so terrific they even placed him among the demigods of football fans across the world.
4. Robert Lewandowski

Club(s): Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich
Position: Striker
Bundesliga Appearances: 384+
Bundesliga Goals: 312+
Bundesliga Titles: 10 (Dortmund 2011, 2012; Bayern 2015-2022)

If you had to build the ideal striker in a lab, you could come up with Robert Lewandowski.
After he announced himself at Dortmund, he went to Bayern Munich and just became an absolute force. There is a kind of legendary merit in Lewandowski’s goal-scoring feats, having shattered records, including Gerd Müller’s single-season goal tally with 41 goals in 2020-2021.
He was the Bundesliga’s highest scorer year after year; in 2020—when the Ballon d’Or was cancelled due to the pandemic—he most likely would have won it.
Dominating year after year with 10 titles is untouchable and something not many players can rival.
5. Lothar Matthäus

Club(s): Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bayern Munich
Position: Midfielder
Bundesliga Appearances: 464
Bundesliga Goals: 121
Bundesliga Titles: 7 (1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1993-94, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-2000)

Matthäus was the ultimate midfield general—strong in defence, and very dangerous in attack.
He was versatile; meaning he could run a game from almost any part of the field—the very same quality he developed during seven winning seasons with Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.
He faced all adversities and doled out a champion’s performance even in his twilight years when he was integrated as a sweeper. Matthäus was no less successful in his foreign careers, yet it is his seven titles in the Bundesliga and the endless tactical influence that have added to his greatness.
6. Thomas Müller

Club(s): Bayern Munich
Position: Attacking Midfielder/Forward
Bundesliga Appearances: 450+ (and counting)
Bundesliga Goals: 150+
Bundesliga Titles: 11 (2010, 2013-2022)

Müller epitomizes football intelligence and versatility.
To some, he is probably the best in the game as a so-called “Raumdeuter” (“space interpreter”), for whom fortune has factored as a key in Bayern’s success over the past decade. Certainly, winning 11 Bundesliga titles scores highly, but it is his work rate, leadership, and ability to create that has kept him at the top.
Müller holds the most assists in the history of the Bundesliga, and that is no weak feat. Add that to the expected positioning to be in the right place at the right time, and you have one of the Bundesliga greats.
7. Manuel Neuer

Club(s): FC Schalke, Bayern Munich
Position: Goalkeeper
Bundesliga Appearances: 460+
Bundesliga Clean Sheets: 210+Bundesliga Titles: 10 (2013-2022)

But it wasn’t just Manuel Neuer changing the game as a goalkeeper for his team. It was his “sweeper-keeper” style, where elite shot-blocking ability went hand in hand with elite, top-class passing precision.
Since joining Bayern Munich in 2011, Manuel Neuer has been the backbone of their success. He won 10 league titles, breaking records here and there and keeping the most clean sheets in the history of the Bundesliga.
8. Oliver Kahn

Club(s): Karlsruher SC, Bayern Munich
Position: Goalkeeper
Bundesliga Appearances: 557
Bundesliga Clean Sheets: 196
Bundesliga Titles: 8 (1997-2008)

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn during the first leg of the 2000-2001 Champions League semifinal. | Location: Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Stephane Mantey/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)
Kahn was no mere goalkeeper but also practically a force of nature. “Der Titan” with its large mentality and unshakable reflexes gave strength to the Bavarians.
Kahn is backed up with the importance of eight Bundesliga titles, but his leadership and hot temperament made the goalkeeper legendarily famous.
From the days of Karlsruher SC to Bayern Munich, Kahn was the player in front of goal whose mere presence was intimidating, as he put in performances that were often the difference between losing and winning.
9. Philipp Lahm

Club(s): Bayern Munich, VfB Stuttgart
Position: Right-back/Defensive Midfielder
Bundesliga Appearances: 332
Bundesliga Goals: 12
Bundesliga Titles: 8 (2006-2017)

Philipp Lahm, for any manager, was the kind of player whom one would seek in a dream: composed, intelligent, and flexible.
In any position he played—as a right-back, defensive midfielder—Philipp Lah. His ability to play anywhere due to his tactical acumen meant that he always flourished regardless of where he was deployed, and his influence contributed to Bayern winning eight Bundesliga titles.
Lahm is not simply one of the greatest full-backs of all time; he is one of the brightest footballers to have ever played the game.
10. Bastian Schweinsteiger

Club(s): Bayern Munich
Position: Midfielder
Bundesliga Appearances: 342
Bundesliga Goals: 45
Bundesliga Titles: 8 (2003-2015)

A master of versatility, Schweinsteiger was tactically aware: he could easily shift from the back to organizing up front, creating, and scoring.
His ability to adapt made him a vital ingredient in Bayern’s eight Bundesliga title wins during his time with the team.
Though a short-lived spell with Manchester United might have soured the view for some, this does not detract from the fact that Schweinsteiger remains one of the most respected figures in Bundesliga history.
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