After Gerd Müller's death, Franz Beckenbauer emphasized the special relationship with the former world-class goalscorer.

"He was such a fine guy and much more subtle than many thought," said the 75-year-old of "Bild".

“Gerd and I - we were like brothers.” Müller had died early on Sunday morning.

He was 75 years old.

He suffered from Alzheimer's and had lived in a nursing home for years, where he received professional care.

"Even if one had to fear the news for a long time: It hits me like a shock," admitted Beckenbauer.

Müller came to FC Bayern Munich in the summer of 1964 and, together with Beckenbauer, shaped an era of unprecedented success in German club football.

With the national team they became European champions in 1972 and world champions in 1974, with Müller scoring the winning goal in the final against the Netherlands in Munich.

After his active career, Müller worked for a long time as a coach in the youth division of FC Bayern.

Thomas Müller benefited from him, among others.

He learned a lot from the forward coach at a young age, wrote the national player on Instagram in a very personal post to his namesake on Sunday evening.

“Apart from my personal encounters with you, your achievements for our @fcbayern and the @dfb_team cannot be rated highly enough.

Without your goals we would not be where we are now, ”said Thomas Müller and concluded his contribution with the words:“ Thank you for everything and finally the most important message: You were a sensationally good person !! ”

Companion Günter Netzer praised Müller as “the best and most unpredictable German goalscorer of all time”.

The attacker was "a phenomenon".

"He wasn't the very best player, but he did things that - I think - sometimes he didn't understand himself," said Netzer.

HSV legend Uwe Seeler said of Müller's death after a long illness: "Maybe it will be a relief for him."

Beckenbauer remembered an anecdote with the exceptional footballer from the time they spent together with the German record champions: “We lived only a few kilometers away from each other at the time. He picked me up before games and sometimes had to wait for me. When he once said impatiently: “Franz, we're going to be late for the team downhill.” I laughed: “Dicker” - that's what I called him - “remember one thing. Nobody leaves Bavaria without us ... "" said Beckenbauer.

Müller crowned himself world champion together with Beckenbauer and, among others, Uli Hoeneß. "It was a great honor for me personally that I was allowed to play at his side," said Hoeneß to Münchner Merkur and tz. “Gerd was unique on the pitch and next to the pitch he was always a humble, down-to-earth companion, valued by all of us for the size,” said Hoeneß. For the former Bayern president, Müller was a man “to whom we all owe an infinite amount”.

Paul Breitner, also world champion in 1974, was deeply affected.

“For me, Gerd Müller was the greatest footballer of my life.

Gerd is the base on which the great FC Bayern of our day was created.

Gerd has had a decisive influence on my life, ”wrote Breitner in the tz.

He also thanked Müller's wife Uschi, “that I was allowed to accompany him in the home, especially in his last years.

I was able to be close to him until the very end. "

Müller was honored in the two Sunday games of the Bundesliga between Mainz 05 and RB Leipzig and between 1. FC Köln and Hertha BSC.

There was a minute's silence in Mainz and one-minute applause in Cologne.