Manuel Neuer is eager to achieve more success and will retire from football once he doesn’t feel needed at Bayern Munich and Germany.
Many senior players left Bayern Munich this summer. There are few players left from the team that won the Champions League in 2013. Manuel Neuer is one of these players that continue to feature in the starting lineup at Bayern.
Neuer got the armband for club and country when Philipp Lahm decided to call it a day. The German goalkeeper has played a vital role in the success achieved by Die Roten and Germany in this decade.
Neuer is slowly showing signs of decline as he has struggled with injuries in the last few seasons. He missed the entire 2017/18 campaign due to a foot injury. After getting through this tough phase, Neuer remains ambitious and ready to fight for the top trophies in the game.
Speaking to Welt Am Sonntag (via Goal), Neuer admitted that he has not decided when to retire from football. The German goalkeeper is hungry to achieve more success with Die Roten. He further insisted that he will hang his boots when he doesn’t feel needed at Bayern and Germany.
"“When you are no longer needed and you feel it, it is difficult to get up and motivate each day.”“When your experience is needed and your players need you, that drives you on. I have the feeling that I am very much needed here in the national team and that everyone is happy that I’m here. It’s clear that I have to show it in my performance.”"
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After returning from serious injuries last season, Neuer delivered decent performances throughout the 2018/19 campaign. However, there have been few glaring mistakes committed by the former Schalke goalkeeper during the past 12 months. His World Cup campaign for Germany was poor as the 2014 World Champions couldn’t go past the group stage.
Neuer will be 35 by the time his current contract with Bayern will expire. The German shot-stopper’s agent has been coy over his future in Bavaria. He further insisted that the Bundesliga champions are far from the elite clubs in Europe.
It will be interesting to see whether Die Roten decides to hand him a new deal. The current squad has a good backup goalkeeper in Sven Ulreich while Christian Fruchtl is also rated highly at the club. Moreover, there have been strong suggestions in German media that Die Roten are eyeing a move for Schalke’s Alexander Nubel.
Bayern Munich has started building a young squad that can help them to compete on all fronts in the present and future. Neuer is currently an important player for Die Roten. However, the club must start thinking about the contingency plans to get the perfect replacement for Neuer.