Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer drops major retirement hint
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has suggested the upcoming season could be his last, admitting it "certainly looks very much" as though he will retire when his current contract expires.
The Bayern captain signed a one-year extension in May keeping him at the club until the end of the 2026/27 campaign, but the legendary stopper has now opened the door to the possibility of hanging up his famous gloves.
"I don't play the matches just to say, 'This is my last game,'" Neuer told media from the club's pre-season training camp in Tegernsee, Bavaria. "It doesn't matter whether this might have been my last time at one stadium or another – we'll see. It certainly looks very much as though I'm going to retire."
Watch: What makes Neuer so good?
Until then, the 40-year-old remains focused on helping Bayern compete for more trophies in what could be his final season between the posts.
"Our goals are all the goals we can achieve," explained Neuer, who won his record-equalling 13th Bundesliga title last term. "We've always said throughout last season that every match is the most important one. That's the mindset we're taking into this season too – we want to beat everyone."
Neuer believes Bayern have the quality to challenge on all fronts, after also lifting the DFB Cup but exiting the UEFA Champions League at the semi-final stage to eventual winners Paris Saint-German in 2025/26. "I believe we've had a good season and that, with this team, we have the potential to beat everyone and achieve all our goals."
Neuer also backed Bayern's goalkeeping contingent, including potential successor Jonas Urbig, praising the unity and competition among the club's shot-stoppers.
"We'll support one another; we've got a strong goalkeeping squad, including Ulle [Sven Ulreich] and the young goalkeepers. The important thing is that we help one another, that we push each other, and that we can always give our best for the team in goal."
Neuer has made 545 appearances for Bayern since joining the record champions from Schalke in the summer of 2011, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest goalkeepers in football history.
