It has been a brutal summer for Bayern Munich skipper Manuel Neuer. After enjoying a great season at Bayern, Neuer did a U-turn on his international retirement and went to the World Cup with Germany. Julian Nagelsmann made Neuer his number one for the tournament.
Germany got knocked out of the tournament in the penalty shootout against Paraguay in the round of 32. It was a catastrophic result that saw Nagelsmann lose his job. Neuer also confirmed that the World Cup was his last outing with the German national team.
After a difficult summer, Neuer reported for pre-season training at Bayern this week. He joined up at the club’s training camp in Tegernsee. The 40-year-old will travel with the squad to the pre-season tour of Asia.
While talking to the media this week (via Bild), Neuer has suggested that the 2026/27 season will be his last in his illustrious playing career. The German goalkeeper is preparing for his 16th season with Bayern.
"I don't play matches thinking, 'This is my last game' - regardless of whether it may be my final appearance at one stadium or another. But it certainly looks like I'm going to retire."Manuel Neuer
Neuer also admitted that he came very close to retiring at the end of last season. However, the staff, the coach, and the quality of the current squad ensured that he continued playing. Bayern extended his contract by a year until 2027. Along with Neuer, Bayern also extended the contract of Sven Ulreich by a year.
Neuer denies agreement on sharing game time with Jonas Urbig
Bayern have identified Jonas Urbig as the long-term successor to Neuer. The young German goalkeeper got adequate game time last season. He made 20 appearances across all competitions.
There have been suggestions in Germany that Urbig will get even more game time next season. However, Neuer has insisted that no such agreement was made with the club. He insisted that Urbig and Ulreich would push and support him as they did last season.
Neuer will be Vincent Kompany’s first-choice goalkeeper next season. If Urbig ends up making 20 appearances once again, it will be a productive season in terms of his development. Bayern will hope that Urbig will be ready to take over from Neuer as the club’s number one at the start of the 2027/28 season.
Bayern will dip into the transfer market for a number two next summer if Neuer and Ulreich end up hanging up their boots. They have trimmed the goalkeeping department this summer by completing the permanent departures of Alexander Nubel and Daniel Peretz.
Add us as a preferred source on Google