His futrue still hangs in the balance. Will Manuel Neuer decide to stay at Bayern Munich for another year, or will his storied chapter with the German Rekordmeister finally come to an end after this season? Either way, whether he leaves this summer or at some point in the future, the legacy he’ll leave behind is absolutely immense.
Neuer’s trophy cabinet for club and country with Bayern and the German national team is unlike any other. A World Cup title, 12 Bundesliga titles with one more expected
this season, 2 Champions League titles, 6 DFB-Pokals, multiple DFL Supercups, 2 Fifa Club World Cups, and 2 UEFA Supercups. While it’s not n officially recognized term in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, there’s good reason why Neuer has been dubbed the GOATkeeper of our generation. He’s right up there with the best keepers the world has ever seen and boldly his own type of player between the sticks.
In a recent interview with The Athletic, former Bayern and Germany teammate Philipp Lahm offered his admiration and approbation for who he described as a “once-in-a-century” goalkeeper. “Neuer is a once-in-a-century goalkeeper, blessed with all the talents and attributes required for his position,” Lahm enthused (via @iMiaSanMia).
“He ranks among the very greatest in football history, alongside Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, and he really should have won the Ballon d’Or at some point. Who could have disagreed with that,” Lahm continued.
Of course, Neuer not winning the Ballon d’Or following his 2014 calendar year was highly controversial, as he officially finished third in that year’s rankings. Cristiano Ronaldo took the honor that year, rendering Neuer’s World Cup title with Germany, and Bundesliga & DFB-Pokal titles with Bayern not quite good enough.
Nonetheless, at 40 years of age, he’s still shown that he has what it takes to compete on the highest level and he has had a handful of world class performances for Bayern this season, so much to the point that there’s been a clamoring on social media for Julian Nagelsmann to recall him out of retirement to go to the World Cup with Germany. Neuer has shot down that suggestion numerous times, though, and is sticking to his decision to stay retired from the national team.
There’s still titles to be won with Bayern and we will soon know if he’ll be in Munich for a bit longer, or if this is the beginning of his swan song.
