“Thomas Mueller is an identification figure, a symbol of Bayern Munich,” the 65-year-old Hainer said in a club video interview.

“He has spent his entire footballing career and blossomed again in the last months under [coach] Hansi Flick.”

Last week Flick signed his own contract extension to 2023, the same as Mueller, as Bayern look to the future after the break enforced by the coronavirus outbreak.

Hainer admitted the suspension brought by the global pandemic was a “huge financial challenge” for the Bundesliga and its clubs. He said there must be solidarity and the “somewhat stronger clubs” must “support the somewhat weaker.”

Bayern, along with the other German Champions League clubs this season – Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen – have already made 20 million euros (21.7 million dollars) available for other Bundesliga or second-tier clubs hit hard by the crisis.