'Everybody loses' – Manuel Neuer's World Cup comeback is tearing Germany apart

19 May 2026 06:34 BST |
9 min read

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

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Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer looks set to return to the Germany fold for the 2026 World Cup – and people aren’t happy.

The legendary shot-stopper will continue his career beyond this season. Neuer, now aged 40, was faced with the choice of retirement or extending his contract at Bayern, ultimately opting for the latter after much deliberation.

Last week, the Bundesliga champions officially announced that Neuer had signed a one-year extension, and it is certainly not difficult to see why all parties felt that the veteran goalkeeper could keep playing at the highest level.

Even at his advanced age, Neuer remains one of the best, most well-rounded goalkeepers in world football. Everyone, of course, still remembers his outstanding performance at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Champions League a few weeks ago.

However, the fact that Neuer has decided to keep playing has also led to some consternation – at Bayern and around Germany.

What Neuer’s extension means for Bayern

Let’s start locally. Neuer is a Bayern legend, but there is an argument to be made that he is overstaying his welcome. The Munich outfit have two extremely highly-rated goalkeepers waiting in the wings.

For one, there is Bayern’s forgotten man Alexander Nubel, who has managed to revive his career on a series of loans after almost looking like a lost cause. He has been impressing at VfB Stuttgart since 2023.

At 29, he would have been the ready-made replacement for Neuer had he decided to hang up his gloves. However, with the 40-year-old now staying, Nubel’s forgettable Bayern career will almost certainly come to an end this summer.

More pertinently, Neuer’s extension also means that Jonas Urbig will have to keep waiting to become Bayern’s No.1. At 22, he still has plenty of time in his career, of course, but he will be frustrated that he will continue to be in-and-out of the side going forward.

He has been promised more game time next season, but he will not be the first-choice option, which means that he will have to make do with a place on the bench when Neuer is fit.

This season, Urbig has made 19 appearances across all competitions as Neuer has increasingly struggled with minor muscle injuries since his devastating leg break a few years ago.

However, because of the constant chopping and changing between the sticks, Urbig has been unable to play with any kind of sustained rhythm, and this has been evident in some of his performances.

Neuer’s Germany return divides the nation

Neuer’s fitness issues and decision to keep playing have also become hotly debated topics on a national scale. Reports indicate that he has informed Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann that he is ready to return to the national team for the 2026 World Cup.

In fact, if reports are to be believed, he is not just set to make his comeback, but he will even become the DFB team’s new No.1 at the tournament in North America. A heated nationwide discussion has ensued.

Neuer’s decision to return would, in itself, not be worthy of much irritation. On the contrary, having a world-class goalkeeper available should be welcomed. However, it is the circumstances around the decision that have led to disillusionment.

Firstly, the 40-year-old retired from the national team after Euro 2024. He did not take part in Germany’s qualifying campaign, so he has contributed nothing to his country’s World Cup participation.

There is also the injury argument. Neuer has long since struggled to stay fit for any prolonged stretch of time, and he was substituted with a minor calf problem during Bayern’s final Bundesliga game at the weekend.

Can his body cope with the schedule and climate at the World Cup? If it can’t, are you really comfortable changing up your goalkeepers – one of the most important positions in the team – mid-tournament?

Both are valid concerns, but the biggest point of contention is undoubtedly Nagelsmann’s handling of the situation. With Marc-Andre Ter Stegen spending much of the past 18 months injured, the manager has been quite clear that Oliver Baumann is Germany’s No.1.

The long-time Hoffenheim goalkeeper meaningfully contributed to the DFB team’s presence at the World Cup, and now, less than a month before the tournament kicks off, he has been suddenly replaced.

What the pundits are saying

Understandably, this has caused widespread condemnation. It is a bad look for Nagelsmann and Neuer and simply unfair to Baumann, who has done nothing wrong. It is a situation in which there are “no winners,” according to Liverpool legend Didi Hamann.

“No matter what job you have, whether you’re a commentator or a sporting director, if your credibility is tarnished or damaged, then you have a problem,” Hamann said on Sky90 at the weekend.

“And we’re now at a point where the World Cup starts in four weeks, and the national coach doesn’t know whether to stick or twist.” Hamann assumes that Nagelsmann’s backpedalling will also have led to consternation among the players.”

He added: “I believe that there are many players in the team – apart from the Bayern players – who are not, or would not be, happy about [Neuer’s return]. I would have consulted the leadership group or four or five players. I don’t know if the coach did that – possibly not. But I can imagine that there would be a lot of resistance from the non-Bayern players if he were called up.

“If I had been a player and someone had asked me, I would have said: ‘No, no – Baumann is a safe pair of hands. Baumann went through the qualifiers with us. We had some tough matches. He’s the reason we’re even going to America.’

“There were some dangerous situations where he spared our blushes. And now, when the other guy retired two years ago, letting everyone else handle the qualifiers, to say: ‘Okay guys, I’m back here’ – that’s simply unacceptable.”

Hamann concluded: “The national coach has to decide that. And if he thinks we need to bring Neuer back to have a better chance, then he should do it.

“But then he should tell Baumann six or seven weeks ago, ‘Look, this is how things stand,’ and not tell him he’ll remain the number one if that’s no longer going to be the case six weeks later.

“And [Neuer’s] game against Real [Madrid] may have played a role. But that was just one game. You can’t let yourself be blinded by things like that.”

Hamann’s sentiment was echoed by legendary goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, former Bayern star Stefan Effenberg and ex-Dortmund defender Neven Subotic, who discussed the topic with journalists on SPORT1.

“I know from personal experience when I was 36, 37, 38 that it is possible to play at a world-class level occasionally, but it is extremely difficult to do it every two or three days, both mentally and physically,” Kahn explained.

Effenberg concurred with Kahn’s assessment that playing Neuer would be a risk and added: “Goalkeeper is a very sensitive position. As a coach, you need to make an unambiguous decision. We saw it at Eintracht Frankfurt [this season] – constant back-and-forth breeds instability.

“The goalkeeper position is the only position in football where you have to make a definitive, unequivocal decision as a coach, and Nagelsmann has not done that to date. I believe that it is a mistake.”

Making a goalkeeper change on such short notice is “adventurous,” Kahn said. “It affects the goalkeepers, especially Baumann, but also the rest of the squad, who will be left questioning how reliable and truthful the coach’s statements are.”

Subotic came to the same conclusion as Hamann that “everybody loses in this situation.” He added: “Timing is important, and sometimes you have to give yourself a clear deadline. It’s unfair to say ‘today, I feel like playing’ on such short notice.

“Sure, you can do that because you’re a legend, but consider: you are part of a team. You have to subordinate yourself to the team to ensure clarity as soon as possible. Clarity, I believe, is something that we all value as humans.

“A football team, especially one with a still relatively new coach, needs clarity. But at the moment, we’re talking about things that seemingly change every couple of weeks, and you don’t want that from a coach.”

For someone whose most famous quote is saying that “70% of coaching is social competence,” Nagelsmann has shown a distinct lack of communication skills in recent weeks, which also manifested itself in his spat with star striker Deniz Undav during the last international break.

As Hamann and Subotic said, there are no winners in this situation, and Germany appear to be heading to the World Cup under a cloud.

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Tom Weber is an experienced, multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer as part of his freelance work for FootballTransfers.

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