Manuel Neuer

Lore & Background

Neuer started his career at Schalke 04 where he won the DFB-Pokal and DFL-Ligapokal, and was appointed club captain in 2010. In 2011, he signed for Bayern Munich and has since won 32 trophies, including a record thirteen Bundesliga titles, multiple domestic titles and two UEFA Champions League titles in 2013 and 2020, both as part of trebles, being the only goalkeeper in history to achieve the European treble twice, additionally winning the second as club captain. In 2014, Neuer finished third in the voting for the FIFA Ballon d'Or award behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He was awarded the Best European Goalkeeper a record five times, and the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper a joint-record five times, alongside Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas. He was also named the Best FIFA Goalkeeper in 2020. Neuer has set numerous records, especially in the Bundesliga. He has the most clean sheets recorded in the competition, with 224. He also holds the most clean sheets in a single season, with 21 in the 2015–16 campaign. Furthermore, he was the fastest player to reach 100 Bundesliga clean sheets, doing so after only 183 appearances. Neuer is the only goalkeeper in Bundesliga history with more than 100 appearances to have conceded fewer goals than matches played. In international football he holds the record for the most appearances by a goalkeeper at the FIFA World Cup. A former Germany youth international, Neuer made his debut for the senior team in 2009, and was first-choice goalkeeper for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Four years later, Neuer won the 2014 tournament with Germany as well as the Golden Glove award for being the best goalkeeper in the tournament, and was named in its All-Star Team and Dream Team. Serving as captain from 2017 to 2023, he also represented his country at the World Cups in 2018, 2022, and 2026 as well as at the UEFA European Championships in 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024. Neuer is the fifth-most capped German international of all time, and holds the team's record for most appearances at European Championships and at international tournaments.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at the Mineirão hummed with a low, electric buzz. It was the semi-final, and the scoreboard read 7-1 in Germany's favour, but Neuer's eyes were still locked on the ball, still tracking every touch, still calling to his defenders with that calm, baritone voice that cut through the roar of sixty thousand voices. A long ball sailed over the top. He was already out of his box, sprinting, arms wide, reading the trajectory like a mathematician reading a theorem. He met it with a single, effortless touch—no dive, no acrobatics—just a controlled, almost lazy parry that sent the ball rolling harmlessly into the stands. The German defenders exhaled. The Brazilian crowd, already silent, seemed to shrink. Neuer turned, looked up at the scoreboard, and simply nodded. Then he jogged back to his line, set his gloves, and waited for the next wave. There would be no more waves. Not tonight.

Reader's Guide

Neuer's career began at Schalke 04, where he progressed through every age group and signed professional terms in 2005. He made his Bundesliga debut as a substitute for the injured Frank Rost on matchday 2 of the 2006–07 season and eventually won the starting position. He helped Schalke reach the Champions League quarter-finals in 2008 by saving penalties in a shootout against Porto. In 2010–11, as captain, he led Schalke to its first Champions League semi-final and won the DFB-Pokal. He moved to Bayern Munich in June 2011. At Bayern, he broke the club record for most consecutive competitive clean sheets, going over 1,000 minutes without conceding. He saved penalties from Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká in the 2012 Champions League semi-final shootout against Real Madrid. In the 2012 final against Chelsea, he scored a penalty but Bayern lost on penalties. In 2013, he posted four consecutive clean sheets in the knockout phase against Juventus and Barcelona, and made eight saves in the final against Borussia Dortmund to win the Champions League. He later won the 2013 UEFA Super Cup by saving the decisive penalty against Chelsea, and the FIFA Club World Cup. He extended his contract until 2019 in May 2014.

Did You Know?

• Neuer was named the best goalkeeper of the decade from 2011 to 2020 by IFFHS.
• He is the only goalkeeper in history to achieve the European treble twice.
• Neuer holds the record for most clean sheets in Bundesliga history with 224.
• He saved penalties from Bruno Alves and Lisandro López to help Schalke advance to the Champions League quarter-finals in 2008.
• Neuer is the fifth-most capped German international of all time.