Thomas Muller Kicks Off MLS Season by Delivering on Hilarious Whitecaps Guarantee

The German legend takes on his first full MLS season after joining the Whitecaps midway through 2025.

Thomas Müller (below) helped lead Vancouver Whitecaps to a season-opening win with a goal from AZ Jackson (above). | Elizabeth Ruiz/Getty Images

Thomas Müller hilariously assured Vancouver Whitecaps would win ahead of the club’s 2026 MLS season opener against Real Salt Lake on Saturday—and he lived up to his cheeky promise.

Müller, 36, is in his first full MLS season with Vancouver after leading the club to the 2025 Western Conference title and the 2025 MLS Cup final.

Taking on their Western Conference foes to kick off the new season, Müller joked to MLS on Apple TV that “for sure we are winning tonight,” and that he “hopes [he] can laugh about it in two hours or three hours.”

90 minutes of soccer later, the Whitecaps secured a season-opening win, with new signing AZ Jackson scoring the lone goal in a 1–0 victory over Salt Lake in front of over 23,000 fans at BC Place. 

AZ starts the play. AZ finishes the play. 😏

Vancouver leads 1-0. pic.twitter.com/yIl4IAqPAA

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 22, 2026

Although Müller didn’t hit the scoresheet, he had an early chance ricochet off the post and was critical to the Whitecaps maintaining pressure to see out the lead. 

For Vancouver fans, the win was a much-needed morale boost, with the club in a dire situation over its stadium deal and future, while facing the potential threat of relocation as soon as 2027.

Ahead of kickoff, supporters rolled out a banner that read: “The club means so much to so many, the Whitecaps belong in Vancouver,”—a clear message to the club, local government and MLS about the importance of the longest-running North American soccer team to the city and the community. 

"This club means so much to so many"
"The Whitecaps belong to Vancouver"

The banners unveiled by Vancouver Whitecaps fans amid uncertainty over their future in the city. #VWFC #MLS

📸 Ali Arabpour/TrueNorthFoot pic.twitter.com/2fX1PZmwp2

— TrueNorthFoot ⚽️🇨🇦 (@truenorthfoot) February 22, 2026

On the field, the Whitecaps kept the good results flowing. They did not look a step below their 2025 standards as they look ahead to greater goals, including MLS, Concacaf Champions Cup, Canadian Championship and Leagues Cup glory through 2026. 

“I think it was a very good win for us,“ manager Jesper Sørensen said post-match. “It was not the prettiest, but it was a very, very good win. And I can never talk about the player’s mentality—it’s always excellent. But the rhythm of play, we struggled a little bit right now, but we’ll find it.”

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Müller Scoffs at Preseason Importance 

Thomas Müller isn't the biggest fan of preseason. | Simon Fearn-Imagn Images

Müller’s introduction to the Whitecaps and MLS came fast and furious in 2025, taking on the rush to the MLS Cup playoffs and the grind of a postseason tournament, culminating in a loss to Inter Miami in MLS Cup. 

Yet the German legend said he did not find the adjustment difficult. He also doubted the preseason’s potential importance to him, even though it gave him a full offseason to reset and recover, unlike the quick shift from Bayern’s 2024-25 campaign to Vancouver’s 2025 season. 

“To be honest, for me it was not that difficult to join the team, I cannot really say that a full preseason is a better thing than joining a team the last four or five months,” Müller said. “When I look back, I think a preseason was not really necessary to have great success.”

Thomas Müller guarantees a win on MLS Countdown 😏 pic.twitter.com/8fKer0lGpa

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 22, 2026

While he may not see the importance of a preseason for himself—the Whitecaps spent most of it in Marbella, Spain, with several other MLS clubs—the value to the team and the new signings remains evident to the 2014 World Cup winner. 

“I hope that we can build it up right early in the season on what we already created last year, but you never know,” he added. “It's always new. Some new players are here, some have left. I’m a little bit excited, kind of nervous, but that's good.”

With their first win of the season secured, the Whitecaps now look to close out their first round of the Concacaf Champions Cup against Costa Rica’s C.S. Cartaginés on Wednesday, before welcoming Canadian rivals Toronto FC to BC Place for the second week of MLS action. 

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