There is no question that Manuel Neuer is one of the greatest footballers in the history of FC Bayern and one of the most influential faces in the history of the DFB. No wonder that the goalkeeper’s near future is still keeping the Federal Republic on its toes, even at the advanced footballing age of 39. Now Neuer has spoken out himself.
“Not yet. I would take my time,” explained the veteran in an interview with “Sky” when asked whether there was already a trend regarding his expiring contract at FC Bayern. “It’s really about the moment to say, okay, how is my body doing? How is my health? Does it make sense to continue? And I have to delay this decision a little bit,” Neuer continued.
FC Bayern would probably welcome it if Neuer continued for another season. The “Bild” recently wrote that Neuer would have to expect a reduction in salary if his expiring contract was extended, but there should still be no doubts about the 2014 world champion in terms of performance.
It is the latter point that keeps the supporter, who actually resigned from the national team in August 2024, talking about a comeback in the DFB goal for the 2026 World Cup.
DFB comeback? FC Bayern “the decisive thing” for Neuer
Speculation that Neuer avoids: “I’m concentrating on the club and want to show my performance here and that’s the most important thing for me because we can achieve so much here with the team.”
If a return does happen in the end, Oliver Baumann in particular, who played the last six DFB games and was convincing, would probably feel the negative consequences.
“I’m really not interested in that. Honestly!” said the goalkeeper of the Bundesliga club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim a few days ago, also on “Sky”. “I find it rather interesting how much attention this attracts,” continued Baumann, “but I also find it interesting because it feels like people don’t take Manu’s decision completely seriously.”
The national coach has the last word
After Neuer’s resignation after the 2024 European Championship, the logical successor was actually ready in Marc-André ter Stegen: Then bad luck with injuries struck – and ter Stegen lost his regular place at FC Barcelona, probably regardless of this. The T question has not yet been finally clarified; Baumann recently had the best prospects.
“In the end, what counts is what Julian does [Bundestrainer Nagelsmann] and Andreas Kronenberg [DFB-Torwarttrainer, Anm. d. Red.] say to me,” emphasized Baumann. The only important thing for him now is that he continues to advertise himself with good performances. There is no question that the focus is also on the World Cup: “My goals are as big as possible,” emphasized Baumann.
Meanwhile, Nagelsmann didn’t want to make a commitment: “No, we’ve spoken about the goalkeeping issue often enough,” the DFB coach evaded recently.
Baumann is “an absolutely great guy who is super humble. We’re currently super happy with him, he’s doing great. We’ll see what happens next year,” but Nagelsmann hinted that Baumann can’t be sure of a number 1 role. After all, none of them are clairvoyants.