Manuel Neuer

Some Lesser Known Facts About Manuel Neuer

• Manuel Neuer is considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He is known for his incredible reflexes, exceptional shot-stopping ability, outstanding distribution skills, leadership, and charitable work.

• While growing up in Ruhr in a close family environment together with his older brother Marcel, Manuel idolised German footballer Jens Lehmann.

• He reportedly received his first football when he was two years old.

  

• He developed an interest in the game at an early age and would often play on the street, in the garden, in the yard, or on the surrounding football pitches.

• In childhood, he was very shy, an attribute he kept even after he grew up into a world-class footballer.

• Manuel attended Gesamtschule Berger Feld, like many other notable footballers, such as Mesut Özil.

• He played his first football match on 3 March 1991, 24 days before his fifth birthday.

  

• On 15 August 2006, Manuel Neuer made his Germany under-21 debut against the Netherlands.

• On 19 August 2006, he made his Bundesliga debut for Schalke. Soon, the media started reporting him as a potential successor to his idol Jens Lehmann for the German national team.

  

• After Robert Enke died in 2009 and René Adler suffered an injury, Manuel Neuer became  Germany’s first-choice goalkeeper for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

• Manuel captained Schalke for the 2010-11 season and led the team to its first Champions League semi-final appearance, where they played against Manchester United.

• Schalke fans heavily criticised him when he announced his decision to end his contract with the team after the 2011-12 season.

• On 1 June 2011, he moved to Bayern Munich after signing a five-year contract of €22 million; this made him the second most expensive goalkeeper of all time after Gianluigi Buffon.

• He helped Bayern reach the 2011–12 Champions League semi-finals by saving penalty kicks from both Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká.

  

• In February 2011, he advocated for homosexual footballers to go public over their sexuality following which a South American publication reported that he was gay.

• On 2 May 2014, he extended his contract with Bayern until the summer of 2019.

• Manuel is often referred to as a “sweeper-keeper” for his activities outside the penalty area. He earned this title during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Reportedly, Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola trained him for his outfield roaming ahead of the tournament. Germany won the tournament, and Neuer won the Golden Glove award for the tournament’s best goalkeeper.
  

• On 20 April 2016, he further extended his contract with Bayern until 2021.

• On 19 July 2017, it was announced that he would succeed Philipp Lahm as the captain of both Bayern and the Germany national team.

• On 17 June 2018, he captained Germany’s national team for the first time in the World Cup.

  

• On 21 May 2020, Manuel extended his contract with Bayern until 2023. He later again extended his contract with the club until 2024.

• On 17 June 2021, he became the first German goalkeeper to earn his 100th cap with the national team.

• He was named in Germany’s squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, making him the first German goalkeeper to feature in four consecutive World Cups.

• Manuel runs a charity foundation, Manuel Neuer Kids Foundation. In November 2011, he appeared in a celebrity edition of Wer wird Millionär?, the German version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, and won €500,000.

  

• In November 2022, he talked about his skin cancer and revealed that three surgeries were performed on his face to cure it. He later promoted sun cream along with German tennis player Angelique Kerber.

  

• In December 2022, he suffered an injury while skiing following which he could not play for Bayern Munich for the rest of the season.

• When he doesn’t play football, Tennis becomes his second favourite sport.

• He is a music lover and loves playing the drums. He has played the drums during live performances with the German rock band “Silbermond.”

• He is popular off-the-pitch too. He voiced a character in the German version of Monsters University in 2013. He has also appeared in a TV advertisement for a global soft drink brand.

• According to Manuel, had he not become a footballer, he would have become a physiotherapist, working in a rehabilitation centre.

• He is a nature lover and often spends time in mountains, forests, and riversides.

• He is a dog lover and often shares pictures of his pet dogs on social media.

  

• He loves cycling and often shares his riding experience on social media.

  

• He is often spotted consuming alcoholic beverages on various occasions.