Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer talks about retirement

Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer is getting closer and closer to the inevitable: retirement. While many fans don’t want to admit it, Bayern and Germany’s captain is now 34 years-old. Even though goalkeepers can generally play longer than outfield players, Neuer doesn’t want to play too long. He discussed this in a recent interview, as reported on by AZ.

“It is not my goal to be the goalie who played the longest. I want to enjoy it. I am happy with every season when I am healthy, when I can help the team, when I am having fun. I want to stay healthy so that the quality of life is still there, so that I can still play tennis. I don’t want to burn out.”

As experienced as the World Cup-winning goalkeeper is, Neuer still says that he still learns everyday, “You are always learning in life. Whether or not soccer is changing drastically, I can’t say. I give my best in training. It’s about the intricacies, the footwork, the jumping, making the right pass, coming out of the box.”

As a part of the interview, Neuer was also asked about the David Alaba situation, as the Austrian defender’s future at the club is up in the air. Even with it all being so publicly reported, Neuer doesn’t think that the team is too rattled by it. “This doesn’t affect us players in the match. Only the performance is important. David reliably delivers a very good performance. We are happy that he belongs to our team.”

Although Neuer didn’t mention or even allude to a date he has in mind, he is in contract with Bayern until June 2023. Barring anything drastic changing in the next two and a half seasons, you have to imagine he will not be retiring until at least then. At that time, he will be 37, which is still well within the average range of goalie ages. However, if he wants to be able to enjoy a long retirement, he just may retire when his contract is up.