Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer seems to have cooled down since his recent media outburst.
The currently injured goalkeeper took to the press last month to discuss a lot of things, and was particularly emotional in voicing his disapproval of the sacking of his close friend Toni Tapalović. Bayern bosses Oliver Kahn and Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić were not amused and fired back at Neuer, expressing their own disapproval of the rogue interview.
Tensions were rising between Neuer and the club, but things soon took a back seat as Julian Nagelsmann’s team tackled bigger sporting tasks on the field. It has thus been a few weeks since the interview was last mentioned at all. However, there seems to have been some progress behind the scenes.
Honorary president Uli Hoeneß gave some details at an event hosted by Abendzeitung. According to Uli, Neuer recently “admitted it(the interview) was a mistake.” Considering Neuer’s pride, stepping down and admitting a mistake is a pretty big step on his part.
Hoeneß also revealed that Neuer had spoken to both Brazzo and Nagelsmann about the way things were. “I wasn’t part of the talks, but he (Neuer) then spoke to Julian and Hasan. No general solution has been found because it was said that this would only be done after the game against Paris,” he said. “But he made it clear to everyone that he didn’t think doing the interview was a great idea.”
If what Uli said is true, then it is reasonable to believe that Neuer and the bosses will come to an amicable conclusion. Neuer seems to have accepted his wrongdoing, which implies that he most likely does not want any hostility between himself and the club. Indeed, when Neuer was spotted at the recent team meeting before the Bundesliga match against Union Berlin, the goalkeeper looked to be in good spirits, a promising sign.
Despite Neuer’s injury and age, Uli’s faith in him is not wavering. Although the honorary president praises Yann Sommer’s acquisition, he still believes and hopes Neuer will return to being Bayern’s No. 1 in the summer. As Uli puts it: “I extremely appreciate Sommer, but one mustn’t forget: Manuel is Manuel!”