Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer admits he feels bad for Schalke right now

There’s simply no disguising the fact that Schalke 04 is currently experiencing a nightmarish period both on and off the pitch as the club is in serious jeopardy of being relegated at the end of the season. They’ve yet to win a match so far this season and have already accumulated a goal difference of -22 in one of their worst ever starts in the Bundesliga. They face a grueling uphill battle if they want to have a chance of staying in the top flight next season

In a recent interview with t-online (via SportBild), Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer admitted that he truly feels bad for the current state of Schalke. Having spent seven years of his senior career and most of his youth career there, he still holds the club near and dear to his heart.

“Schalke is the club where I grew up. I played there for 20 years and I’m sad to see this development. I hope that things will look up again soon,” Neuer said of the Gelsenkirchen Die Königsblauen.

Photo by Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images

A native of Gelsenkirchen himself, Neuer went on to say that Schalke “still plays a big role” for him. His contract with Bayern was just renewed in the spring, keeping him at the club through June 2023, but at 34 years of age, he still didn’t want to entirely rule out a potential return to the Ruhr area to close out his playing career. When he was specifically asked about a potential return to Gelsenkirchen, he said, “I don’t yet know exactly where I’ll be after my career. But I don’t want to rule anything out.”

For now, though, it’s business as usual and focusing on the task at hand for Neuer. He’s been in sensational form for Bayern this season and is looking forward to maintaining the top spot in the Bundesliga with the massive clash against RB Leipzig this weekend: “We are hungry and have a team that plays successfully and wants to beat Leipzig.”