A top club from abroad was also involved
Manuel Neuer reveals: Bundesliga team wanted to get me
12/27/2025 – 6:48 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
With Schalke 04 and FC Bayern there are only two clubs on Manuel Neuer’s resume. Things could have gone differently.
Manuel Neuer has now been under contract with FC Bayern for 14 years. The goalkeeper played almost 600 competitive games for the German record champions. In 2011, Bayern paid around 30 million euros to Neuer’s training club Schalke 04, for whom Neuer previously played.
In an interview with Twitch streamer and YouTuber Simon “Gamerbrother” Schildgen, the 2014 world champion revealed that as a young player he was courted by another club from North Rhine-Westphalia. “It was the case that after the U19, 1. FC Köln was very interested,” explained Neuer. But Cologne was not the only interested party. Arsenal FC also wanted the German. “Arsène Wenger was the coach who speaks many languages. That was before Christofer Heimeroth went to Borussia Mönchengladbach,” said Neuer.
Before Heimeroth’s departure, the now 39-year-old was only number three at Schalke. Frank Rost was number one, Heimeroth the substitute. Nevertheless, a move to England wasn’t really an option, Neuer made it clear: “I knew it would be difficult if you were actually still a youth national goalkeeper and then went abroad. It may be that you won’t be able to really gain a foothold with the clubs on the island, so you have to have a certain standing in order to become number one.”
In the 2006/07 season, Neuer was initially number two – but then replaced Frank Rost as the starting goalkeeper. The rest is known, the German goalkeeper is now considered in many places to be the best keeper in football history. He deals with this “in a very relaxed manner”. “I know that the here and now counts. If you help the team and put your performance on the pitch, then that’s what’s important. Team success is more important than personal success.”