Manuel Neuer Just Strongly Hinted This Bundesliga Season Is His Last

Manuel Neuer stood at a podium by the Tegernsee lake on Tuesday and did something he usually avoids. He gave a real answer about retirement.

The 40-year-old Bayern Munich goalkeeper, who has already retired from the German national team twice, told reporters that the upcoming Bundesliga season will likely be his final one as a professional. He didn’t say it was definite — he added the standard athlete caveat about taking it with a grain of salt — but the message was pretty clear.

“I might have stopped in 85 percent of cases,” Neuer said. “But with this team, the staff and the coaching team, it’s simply fun. We always have the opportunity to compete for every title. (After this season), it looks very much like I’ll stop.”

The World Cup wasn’t the ending he wanted

Neuer returned to Bayern’s preseason camp after Germany crashed out of the World Cup this summer. He admitted the disappointment of that tournament exit is still sitting with him. But rather than dwell on it, he’s using it as fuel to focus on what’s next with Bayern.

It’s worth remembering that Neuer had already retired from international duty once before Nagelsmann talked him into coming back for one more World Cup run. That second comeback didn’t end with a trophy, and now it seems he’s ready to close the book on his full career.

This will be his 21st Bundesliga campaign. That’s a lot of years diving at people’s feet.

He still believes in this Bayern squad

Neuer was asked whether the current Bayern roster could compete for every trophy. His answer was yes, and he seemed to mean it. He pointed to the club’s summer transfers and noted that nobody irreplaceable walked out the door from last season’s starting XI.

“With this team, the staff and the coaching team, it’s simply fun,” Neuer repeated.

He’s also comfortable with the goalkeeper room. Neuer said his relationship with Jonas Urbig will carry on the same way it did last season, with everyone pushing each other. He mentioned Sven Ulreich and the younger prospects too, stressing that the whole group keeps each other sharp.

“The important thing is that we help each other and push each other,” he said, “so that we can always give the team the best possible performance in goal.”

Neuer has been deflecting retirement questions for years. This time he didn’t deflect. He just said it. One more season, and then we’ll see.