After joining the Major League Soccer team Vancouver Whitecaps this summer, in addition to his competitive performance, Thomas Muller's new look after growing a beard is also eye-catching. Muller explained this when he was a guest on the Blickpunkt Sport program of Bayerischer Rundfunk recently.

Müller's new look sparked discussion especially on social networks, and he has now revealed how the change came about: "I have never had a beard before. Many of my teammates have beards, and maybe that's one of the reasons. People always try to prove themselves."

But apparently, the long distance from his hometown of Bavaria (about 10 hours' flight distance) also has something to do with his beard. Muller elaborated: "It all probably had something to do with flying around. One day, I passed the stage where it was itchy and easy to shave. Then I had some 'material' to take care of."

He continued: "Then a teammate said: 'I'm going to the barber on Monday, and I will make an appointment for you now.' And when it was trimmed, it didn't look bad, so I thought, let's keep it for now."