Munich: German football legend Gerd Mueller has been suffering from dementia and "is slowly passing to the afterlife in his sleep", his wife Uschi said just moments before his 75th birthday on Tuesday.
Muller, popularly known as "The Bomber for his snappy goal-scoring ability, won the 1974 World Cup for West Germany and countless domestic and European titles with Bayern Munich. Muller scored 14 goals in two World Cups, a record which he held for 32 years. In 2006, Brazilian football star Ronaldo broke the record. Now, the record is held by his successor Miroslav Klose.
Muller currently lives in a specialised care home.
"He spends almost 24 hours a day in bed, he has just the rare moments of being awake," Uschi was quoted as saying by a German newspaper.
"It's beautiful when he opens his eyes a little bit. Sometimes he manages to say yes or no with his eyes.
"He's calm, peaceful, I don't think he's suffering and is slowly passing to the afterlife in his sleep," she added.
Muller, who also lifted the European Championship with his country, holds the record of 40 goals in one Bundesliga season, set in 1971/72.
"It's thanks to his goals that Bayern Munich rose to the international level and are there today," his former teammate Franz Beckenbauer said.
"In my eyes, he is the most important player in Bayern Munich's history. I'm sure people will still talk about Gerd Mueller in 100 years."
