Oliver Kahn hopeful for futures of both Choupo-Moting, Manuel Neuer at Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich does have a relatively aging squad, but amongst their core of veteran, experienced players, there’s a good handful of them that still have a lot to offer the club. Two of said veterans that have been having solid seasons thus far are Manuel Neuer and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. Both players have upcoming expiring contracts, but could still have futures beyond the terms of their current contracts.

Earlier this year, Neuer signed a one-year extension that runs through June 2024, while Choupo-Moting’s current contract is set to expire this summer. Bayern’s front office has expressed interest in wanting to offer Choupo-Moting and extension given how well he’s been performing this season, but his representatives have made that clear it would only happen with a significant pay raise for the striker. Earlier this year, it had been reported that Bayern’s board and front office would be willing to consider giving Choupo-Moting a significant pay raise as a part of their package to try to convince him to sign a contract extension. Currently, he makes roughly €3.5m/year, but the club would be willing to increase that amount to get him to stay, especially with the interest he’s garnered from other clubs.

Since both players are over the age of 30, they would likely each only get one-year extensions beyond their current contracts as it’s an internal rule at Bayern to only offer one more year for players over 30, though there have, of course, been exceptions to that rule. With the way both players are performing, Bayern will certainly assess giving them extensions to their current contracts, which is the sentiment that was echoed by Oliver Kahn in a recent interview with Sky Sports’ Florian Plettenberg.

For Choupo, Kahn said that Bayern plans on opening discussions with him after the World Cup, where he is on duty with Cameroon. “Choupo is doing an excellent job. We’ll sit down after the World Cup and then we’ll see how we can come together,” he said (via @iMiaSanMia). For Neuer’s case, Kahn doesn’t see the keeper’s form diminishing any time soon and is quite confident that he can play until he’s 40 years old. “Manuel continues to deliver top performances, world-class performances and as long as that is the case, he can continue until he is 40. He can still do it after 40. So why shouldn’t we keep renewing his contract,” Kahn boldly exclaimed.