Alexander Nübel’s agent confirms arrangement with Bayern about playing time

It is never easy for German players to move to Bayern Munich — especially if you’re a young talent who moves to Munich on a free transfer from Schalke 04. Things will not be easy for Alexander Nübel while he is running down his contract in Gelsenkirchen.

Nübel’s starting spot has come under question, and he was stripped of off his captain’s armband after the transfer was announced. Nübel will be in the stands for Schalke’s Bundesliga Rückrunde opener against Monchengladbach because of a red card after a kung-fu kick in a game against Eintracht Frankfurt. David Wagner, manager of Schalke 04, still didn’t decide who will captain his team in Rückrunde or who will be the team’s first goalkeeper — will Nübel continue, or will the youngster Markus Schubert take up his place?

In a recent interview (AZ), Nübel’s agent Stefan Backs discussed the keeper’s status in Schalke after his transfer to their Bavarian rivals. Many fans were, obviously, not happy with Nübel’s transfer and made their anger very noticeable. Backs said, “Alex has switched off the commentary function on his homepage.”

He didn’t do it for the money

Backs attempted to explain the decision behind the transfer and assures everyone that financial incentives were not the driving factor in young goalkeeper’s transfer. He said,

If it had been about money, Alex would have had to go abroad. There were several offers where money was not an issue. Bayern Munich’s offer was in the lower range.

Many people are speculating that Nübel will stay in Manuel Neuer’s shadow in the coming years, but again Backs argues to the contrary. He even indicated that Bayern had indeed reached some kind of agreement about games in which Nübel would play. He said,

It should be obvious to everyone that Bayern Munich presented a solid plan (“schlüssiges Konzept”) about that; otherwise Alex would not have agreed.

Backs says Nübel decided in favor of the “biggest challenge possible,” making it at Bayern Munich. It will be interesting to see how he is integrated on the team once Neuer signs his contract extension, as anticipated.