Football

Munich, Germany: Bayern Munich legend Thomas Mueller confirmed on Saturday the club will not offer him a new contract bringing an end to his 25-year career with the Bundesliga giants at the end of the campaign. The 35-year-old, whose contract was set to expire in the summer, said in a post on social media the decision was made by the club and "not what I would have wished". Mueller said he did not like how the contract saga played out "back and forth in public" in recent months but he "felt the appreciation from everyone involved after my long time with Bayern". "The special connection to the club and our fantastic fans will always remain," he said. Mueller came through the Bayern junior system and has won two Champions Leagues along with 12 Bundesliga titles. His focus was now on "bringing the league title back to Munich" as well as reaching this season's Champions League final, which will be held in Bayern's Allianz Arena home. Later on Saturday, Bayern issued a statement saying Mueller would be honoured with a testimonial match and that the midfielder would play at the Club World Cup in July. "Thomas Mueller had the definition of a Bavarian fairytale career," club president Herbert Hainer said. Mueller was born in the nearby Bavarian town of Weilheim and joined the club aged 10, making his debut under coach Jurgen Klinsmann in 2008 against a Hamburg side featuring current Bayern coach Vincent Kompany. A one-club player, Mueller's 743 matches for Bayern in all competitions is the most in the team's history. He has registered 247 goals and 273 assists for the club in that time. In recent seasons, Mueller has started from the bench more regularly, leading to growing speculation he could leave the club. The midfielder did not reveal where he would play next season, although German media has speculated he could make a late-career move to the United States to play in the MLS. Read Also Verstappen snatches 'insane' pole for Japan GP in track record New Zealand hammer Pakistan by 43 runs to sweep ODI series 3-0 America's passion for tariffs rarely pays off, economists warn 'Focus on the future' Former teammate at Bayern Eric-Maxim Choupo Moting, who plays for the New York Red Bulls in the MLS, told Kicker that Mueller was "welcome here" in March. "Thomas is a Bayern legend so I would be happy for him if he continues there. If he wants to take the step (to the US), we'll see. "Thomas, you already speak English... I'm watching you." Mueller has long been earmarked for a role in the club's administration once his playing career ends. A 2014 World Cup winner with Germany, Mueller retired from international duty just after Euro 2024. He played for his country 131 times over a 14-year period, scoring 45 goals. Bayern sporting director Max Eberl said in a statement the decision not to continue with Mueller was "anything but easy," adding "we're putting the focus on the future". Bayern's next match is Tuesday's home Champions League quarter-final first leg against Inter Milan, with the return game the following Wednesday. An injury to Jamal Musiala in Friday's 3-1 win at Augsburg could mean Mueller is in line for a rare start against the Italian champions. In the league, Bayern sit nine points clear of defending champions Bayer Leverkusen, who have a game in hand at lowly Heidenheim on Saturday.

Formula One

Suzuka: Four-time world champion Max Verstappen smashed the track record to snatch pole position for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris, as Yuki Tsunoda qualified a lowly 15th in his Red Bull debut. Verstappen clocked a blistering lap of 1min 26.983sec in his Red Bull, 0.012sec ahead of championship leader Norris, with McLaren's Oscar Piastri third. Verstappen set a new Suzuka track record with his final lap in Saturday's qualifying, pipping Norris right at the death. "Each session we kept making little improvements, then the last lap was flat out," said Verstappen, who has won the Japanese GP for the last three years. "In a Formula One car around here is insane. This is a proper highlight for us to be back on pole here." It was Verstappen's first pole position of the season. The Dutchman is still looking for his first grand prix win of the new campaign. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fourth ahead of Mercedes' George Russell, with Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli sixth and RB's Isack Hadjar seventh. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was eighth, followed by Williams's Alex Albon and Haas's Oliver Bearman. Norris is looking for his second grand prix win of the season, after triumphing in the season opener in Australia. He finished second behind Piastri in China a fortnight ago in a dominant start to the campaign for McLaren. "I'm happy, congrats to Max, he did a good job," said Norris. "You have to credit something when it is a lap that good that he must have done. I got everything out of the car today, the gaps are tiny. "Good but not enough." Tsunoda was eliminated in Q2 in a disappointing first qualifying drive for Red Bull after being promoted in place of Liam Lawson last week. The Japanese driver finished one place behind Lawson, who returned to RB after just two races for Red Bull in a ruthless driver swap. Verstappen has not looked comfortable this week and he again complained to his team over the radio in Q1. "I still have the same problem, the tyres are not gripping on the front," the Dutchman said. Alpine's Pierre Gasly, Williams's Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso were eliminated in Q2 along with Lawson and Tsunoda. Sauber pair Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, Haas's Esteban Ocon, Alpine's Jack Doohan and Aston Martin's Lance Stroll were all eliminated in Q1. Doohan's practice on Friday ended when he crashed heavily into a barrier and mechanics had to work through the night to repair his badly damaged car. Qualifying was suspended for about eight minutes in Q2 when a small trackside fire broke out as sparks from the cars ignited the grass in the dry conditions. It was the fifth such incident of the weekend, with the second and third practice sessions also disrupted by fires. Rain has been forecast for Sunday's race.

Cricket

Mount Maunganui: Pakistan's brittle batting was exposed again as a Ben Sears-inspired New Zealand won the third and final one-day international by 43 runs Saturday to sweep the series 3-0. The tourists were dismissed for 221 off 40 overs in response to New Zealand's 264-8, in a match shortened to 42 overs after a delayed start at Mount Maunganui. It followed the pattern of the first two games, with the hosts winning the opener in Napier by 73 runs, followed by an 84-run victory in Hamilton. New Zealand also dominated the preceding T20 series, winning 4-1. Pakistan struggled throughout the tour to adjust to the sustained bounce and movement of New Zealand's seam attack and their batsmen were again guilty of rash shots at Bay Oval. Aggressive pace bowler Sears claimed 5-34 to follow his five-wicket bag in Hamilton, with four of his victims falling to short-pitched deliveries. Fellow seamer Jacob Duffy, who was a handful in both series, took 2-40, including the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan for 37 in the 33rd over to effectively end the tourists' hopes of victory. Babar Azam top-scored with 50 off 58 balls while opener Abdullah Shafique ground out a sluggish 33 off 56. Pakistan's innings began badly when opener Imam-ul-Haq was forced to retire hurt for one, having been struck on the jaw by a fielder's throw when attempting a quick single. Earlier, Rhys Mariu scored a maiden half-century after New Zealand were asked to bat first, with the start of the match delayed for two hours because of a wet outfield. Opener Mariu, playing just his second international match, scored a composed 58 off 61 balls, featuring six fours and two sixes. A number of New Zealand middle-order batsmen made starts but didn't press on for big scores until captain Michael Bracewell produced a flashy 59 at the death. Bracewell struck six sixes in his 40-ball knock before being caught off the last ball of the innings bowled by Akif Javed. Seamer Javed took 4-62 off his eight overs although Naseem Shah was arguably the best of the Pakistan bowlers, taking 2-54 and bowling with good pace and movement.