Manuel Neuer
#1 · Goalkeeper · age 40 · (C)
Returns at 40 after months of uncertainty; reclaims starting role from Baumann
92
WC26 rating
- Recent form
- 38
- Career peak
- 68
- League level
- 89
- Competition pedigree
- 98
- International pedigree
- 100
- Longevity
- 59
Independent rating — league strength (Opta-anchored) × competition tier × position-normalized output. Not affiliated with EA or FIFA.
Career by season
Source: transfermarkt · fetched 2026-05-29
Neuer’s return is the headline of Germany’s squad announcement and a quiet vote of no confidence in Baumann, who started most of qualifying. Nagelsmann clearly trusts the 40-year-old’s distribution to anchor a build-up that runs through Kimmich as an inverted full-back, and the captain’s armband gives a young attacking core (Wirtz, Musiala, Karl) a steadying voice. The risk is real — one bad knee twist and Germany’s tournament gets thinner overnight — but the upside is the most experienced big-tournament goalkeeper of his generation playing his last World Cup.
Strengths
- distribution under pressure
- command of his box
- shot-stopping from close range
- leadership of a young back line
Recent form
Started the bulk of Bayern's 2025-26 Bundesliga and Champions League run; clean sheets in late-season warm-ups.
Was originally a Schalke academy product — the only club rivalry where his Bayern arrival in 2011 still draws boos a decade and a half later.