 In 1988 Thom was the top scorer in East Germany and that same year also voted the East German Footballer of the Year.On 16 December 1989, Thom became the first East German to sign for a Bundesliga club when he joined West German side Bayer Leverkusen for a transfer fee of 2.5 million Deutsche Mark (approx £900,000).The transfer also placed Thom amongst the highest earners in the Bundesliga and made him the highest paid player at Bayer Leverkusen.