| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Matthew Mueller[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1996-08-29)August 29, 1996 (age 29) | ||
| Place of birth | Schaumburg, Illinois, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Chicago Fire | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2013 | Chicago Sockers | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2017 | Wisconsin Badgers | 75 | (22) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016 | Des Moines Menace | 2 | (0) |
| 2017 | Chicago FC United | 9 | (4) |
| 2018–2021 | Orlando City | 112 | (21) |
| 2022 | Hibernian | 11 | (0) |
| 2022– | Chicago Fire | 61 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2020–2021 | United States | 2 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of October 25, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of January 31, 2021 | |||
Christopher Matthew Mueller (born August 29, 1996) is an American professionalsoccer player who plays as awinger forMajor League Soccer clubChicago Fire.
Following acollegiate career at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison, Mueller was the sixth overall pick of the2018 MLS SuperDraft, joiningOrlando City where he became the club's all-time leading appearance maker during a four-season spell. Mueller joined Scottish clubHibernian in January 2022, but left them after four months and returned to MLS with Chicago Fire.
Mueller grew up inSchaumburg, Illinois and playedcollege soccer at theUniversity of Wisconsin from 2014 to 2017, scoring 22 goals in 75 regular season matches.[3] In 2016, Mueller was selected to the All-America third-team and the All-Big Ten first team.[4] In 2017, Mueller was namedBig Ten Offensive Player of the Year, as well as being selected to the All-Big Ten first team[5] and the All-America second-team.[6]
Mueller was drafted as the sixth overall pick of the2018 MLS SuperDraft byOrlando City SC.[7] He made his professional debut on March 3, 2018, in a season-opening 1–1 draw withD.C. United.[8] On April 8, 2018, Mueller scored his first professional goal againstPortland Timbers in a 3–2 victory.[9] On April 21, 2018, Mueller scored the fastest goal in Orlando City history when he scored 63 seconds into a match against theSan Jose Earthquakes, and later in the match he recorded his first professional assist.[10] Mueller was runner-up for the 2018MLS Rookie of the Year Award.[11]
On March 2, 2019, Mueller started in his second consecutive season opener, scoring in a 2–2 againstNew York City FC. He scored his firstU.S. Open Cup goal against the same opposition on July 10, 2019, in a 1–1 quarter-final draw before Orlando progressed to their first ever semi-final onpenalties. In July 2019, Mueller was part of the Orlando City team alongsideNani andSebas Méndez that won the2019 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge, beating teams from theMLS All-Stars andAtlético Madrid to win the $25,000 prize for charity with Mueller notably the only player to successfully complete ascissors kick during the volleys round.
On March 7, 2020, Mueller scored Orlando's first goal of the season in a 2–1 away loss toColorado Rapids.[12] With the season affected by the coronavirus pandemic, a return to play was achieved through theMLS is Back Tournament. Mueller scored in the opening game as Orlando beat newly formed rivalsInter Miami CF 2–1 before scoring a brace in the following game, a 3–1 victory overNew York City FC.[13] He finished the2020 season as the team's top scorer with a career-high 10 goals.
On July 17, 2021, Mueller appeared as a substitute in 1–1 draw withToronto FC. It was his 108th appearance for the club in all competitions, tying the record set byCristian Higuita in 2019. Entering the final year of his contract in 2021, Mueller had been in contract negotiations with Orlando City but informed the club on July 21, 2021, that he had signed apre-contract agreement with an unnamed European club and that he would be leaving upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the2021 season.[14] He broke the club appearance record a day later, starting in a 2–1 win overPhiladelphia Union.
On July 22, 2021,Scottish Premiership sideHibernian announced they had signed Mueller on a free transfer agreement, which would see him join the club on January 1, 2022.[15][16]
On January 20, 2022, Mueller made his debut forHibernian in the side's 1–0 win overCove Rangers in theScottish Cup.[17] On February 13, 2022, He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win overArbroath F.C. in the Scottish Cup.[18] This proved to be the only goal Mueller would score for Hibs, and he was allowed to return to the U.S. in May 2022.[19] Hibs chief executive Ben Kensell said that Mueller had struggled to "adapt to the pace and physicality" of Scottish soccer.[19]
On May 5, 2022,MLS sideChicago Fire FC announced they had signed Mueller for an undisclosed fee fromHibernian.[19][20]
In November 2020, having never appeared on any level for the United States national team, Mueller was called up to theUnited States senior team for afriendly againstEl Salvador.[21] He made his debut starting the game on December 9, scoring twice, registering one assist and was namedman of the match in a 6–0 victory.[22][23]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Orlando City | 2018 | MLS | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 3 | ||
| 2019 | 29 | 5 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 33 | 6 | ||||
| 2020 | 22 | 10 | — | — | 6[b] | 0 | 28 | 10 | ||||
| 2021 | 29 | 3 | — | — | 2[c] | 0 | 31 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 112 | 21 | 6 | 1 | — | 8 | 0 | 126 | 22 | |||
| Hibernian | 2021–22 | Scottish Premiership | 11 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 15 | 1 | ||
| Chicago Fire | 2022 | MLS | 24 | 4 | — | — | — | 24 | 4 | |||
| 2023 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 2 | ||||
| 2024 | 27 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 61 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 62 | 6 | |||
| Career total | 184 | 27 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 203 | 29 | ||
| United States | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 | 2 |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 2 |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 9, 2020[22] | DRV PNK Stadium,Fort Lauderdale, United States | 1 |  El Salvador | 2–0 | 6–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 4–0 |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
