Manuel Neuer’s agent says there’s still no decision on his Bayern Munich future

Munich—The clock is ticking on Manuel Neuer’s 12-year tenure as Bayern Munich’s undisputed No. 1, yet the 40-year-old goalkeeper is in no rush to decide what comes next. With his current deal set to expire in June, the club and the player had once pencilled in early spring for a definitive meeting on an extension. That timeline has now been shelved.

“No decision has been made yet regarding Manuel’s future,” his representative, Thomas Kroth, told Bild, via the reliable Bayern-centric outlet @iMiaSanMia. “He wants to listen to his body for a little longer. The club is aware of the situation, both sides are relaxed and feel no time pressure.”

Neuer’s reluctance to commit is understandable. On Tuesday night at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu he produced a tour-de-force display in Bayern’s 2-1 Champions League quarter-final first-leg win over Real Madrid, repelling nine shots on target and earning UEFA’s Man of the Match award. The performance was the latest evidence that, when fit, the veteran remains capable of deciding ties on Europe’s grandest stage.

Fitness, however, has not always been a given this season. A calf complaint sidelined Neuer earlier in the campaign and a hurried return aggravated the problem. The knock-on effect was stark: when Jonas Urbig sustained a concussion against Atalanta in the round of 16 and stand-in Sven Ulreich picked up a muscular niggle in the subsequent 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern suddenly found themselves without a senior keeper. The episode has amplified internal debate over whether a younger, more durable deputy—or even an outright successor—should be sourced this summer.

Alexander Nübel, currently on loan at VfB Stuttgart, has already positioned himself as a candidate, telling reporters he could envision returning to Munich to compete with Urbig should Neuer opt to leave. Much depends on the captain’s deliberations, and those deliberations are deliberately open-ended for now.

Bayern’s hierarchy, for their part, appear willing to grant their long-serving skipper all the latitude he needs. With no contractual obligation beyond June 30, Neuer holds the leverage—and the luxury—of deciding on his terms. Whether that leads to one more season in the familiar red shirt or a sensational free-transfer exit remains, officially, undecided.

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