The end of the Manuel Neuer reign at Bayern Munich seems like it's getting closer as the veteran keeper now faces a sizeable spell on the sidelines after sustaining a partial tendon tear in Bayern's recent 2-1 win at Mainz.
Neuer was replaced by Jonas Urbig just before the halftime interval in that match and it's now been confirmed by the club that the 2014 World Cup winner will be out of action until at least the beginning of 2027.
It's Neuer's right foot that's been affected in this most recent injury setback, the same foot that's been troubling him for quite some time, which is cause for concern. Within the past couple of seasons for the German Rekordmeister, it often seems to be the case of one step forward, two steps back for the keeper with regard to his injury history.
Thankfully, the veteran has been continuously mentoring Urbig ever since Bayern bought the young keeper from FC Koln in January of 2025 as it's been the plan for the 23-year-old to eventually become the number one keeper at the club.
Bayern Putting Plans in Motion?
On top of the fact that Neuer is now sidelined until the beginning of the new year, his contract is set to expire in June, which begs the question; will Bayern give him another one-year contract extension? The keeper has signed multiple one-year extensions in recent seasons as the club as an internal policy of not offering players over the age of 30 an extension greater than one year, though there are, of course, exceptions to that rule.
With Neuer's injury history taken into consideration, this very well might be his last season playing football let alone playing for Bayern. He has previously said that it would be a dream of his to retire at Bayern, so the writing is already on the wall in that regard. There's been nothing concrete from either Neuer or the club's front office thus far indicating retirement or a possible one-year contract extension, but Bayern are remaining proactive with their squad planning.
With Neuer possibly leaving this summer and Urbig presumably assuming the number one keeper role, Bayern would need reinforcements in that position, as Sven Ulreich's contract is also set to expire this summer.
Bernd Leno on the Radar
As per Sky Sport Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg, Bayern currently have Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno on their shortlist of potential transfers for the summer window. The 34-year-old keeper is open to a potential move to Bayern, though Fulham do have an option to extend his contract through to June 2028, meaning a transfer fee would be required for Bayern to pay for a player that currently earns roughly 8.5 million pounds per year.
Leno's current Fulham salary would, by no means, be considered to be one of the higher earners at Bayern, but the Bundesliga champions have also been making active strides in recent seasons to try to lessen their overall wage bill in a timeframe where they've completed new contracts for Dayot Upamecano, Harry Kane, Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala, and Alphonso Davies within the past couple of seasons.
Those efforts spearheaded by board member for sport Max Eberl, sporting director Chirtoph Freund, and CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen don't completely close off the idea of keeping their eyes open in the transfer market, though, and Leno could potentially prove to be a solid bit of business for what it's wroth if anything winds up coming to fruition.
The German keeper has kept a total of 35 clean sheets from 166 appearances at Fulham, but has valuable experience in the Bundesliga from his time with Bayer Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart in addition to his Premier League experience in England with Fulham and Arsenal. Not to mention, he's made over 35 appearances in the Champions League from his tenure with Leverkusen.
