Nagelsmann strips Germany star of captaincy and may force him into retirement
New Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has stripped veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer of the captaincy, with Ilkay Gundogan set to remain skipper at Euro 2024.
Neuer has been out of action since December 2022 after breaking his in a skiiing accident while on holiday following Germany's exit from the World Cup. The injury required surgery and Neuer initially returned to training with Bayern Munich in August.
However, he then suffered a further setback and rejoined partial team training last month. Although Bayern's sporting director Christopher Freund said at the time it would be "only a matter of days" until Neuer was able to return to action, the 37-year-old is still yet to play his first game since last year's World Cup.
He was expected to play in Bayern's DFB Pokal game against third-tier side Preussen Munster last month, but manager Tomas Tuchel instead opted to hand a debut to Daniel Peretz while teenage prospect Max Schmitt was named on the bench.
Former Manchester City star Gundogan has also captained the national team in Neuer's absence and Nagelsmann, who recently replaced Hansi Flick as Germany boss, has confirmed Neuer will not be getting the armband back.
Manuel Neuer felt his "heart was ripped out" as he slams Bayern sacking friend
"Ilkay will remain captain," Nagelsmann was quoted as saying by BILD when asked if Gundogan would captain Germany when they host next year's Euros. "It's important that we have continuity there."
BILD also suggested it could spell the end of Neuer's international career, with the pair involved in a spat during Nagelsmann's tenure as Bayern boss. Bayern sacked goalkeeper coach Toni Tapalovic earlier this year after Nagelsmann reportedly complained about his behaviour.
Ilkay Gundogan has replaced Neuer as Germany captain and will wear the armband at next year's Euros (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)However, he is one of Neuer's closest friends, with the pair former teammates at Schalke and Tapalovic acting as best man at Neuer's wedding. Following Tapalovic's departure, Neuer hit out at Bayern in an interview with the Athletic, saying: "That blow hit me extremely hard.
"I was told by the club officials. It came out of nowhere. For Toni too. I didn't understand that at all. It really knocked me down. Toni was always a team player with us, everyone saw it that way. He wasn't working for me for 11-and-a-half years, but for the entire goalkeeper group, for the coaching staff and for the club.
"We were always able to separate work and private life. I understand that it might sound like I'm not being objective or not believable, but I can really tell the difference. For me, that was a blow — when I was already down on the ground (after breaking his leg). I felt like my heart was being ripped out. It was the most brutal thing I've experienced in my career. And I've experienced a lot."
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