<b>New contract for Neuer till 2023</b>
At last! After many rounds of long and sometimes tough negotiations, a good deal of which were conducted in public, Manuel Neuer has extended his contract with FC Bayern until 2023, ensuring that “koan Neuer” will remain Bayern’s first goalkeeper for the next three years.<a href="#wrangling-over-the-contract"></a>Wrangling over the contractThe farce surrounding Manuel Neuer’s contract extension has been a constant fixture in football media since the beginning of the year. In January, initial reports about the negotiations surfaced, and subsequently in March and April both Neuer’s supposed demands for duration and salary somehow transpired. In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, the figures mentioned seemed astronomical and presented the goalkeeper as the prototype of the unconscionable, avaricious footballer.The publication of the demands was a tipping point for Neuer and his agent Thomas Kroth. The German international decided to express his frustration in the Springer press. In other words, the very paper that had made the contract details public in the first place.In our blog in April, Jan quite rightly concluded that bickering over the contract in public would not produce a winner on either side.“FC Bayern find themselves spread out all over the tabloid media and cannot make another important contract decision in peace. If you lead contract negotiations through the media, everybody loses.”Jan, about the contract extension of Manuel Neuer<a href="#the-struggle-for-power"></a>The struggle for powerAccording to the media, Neuer above all insisted on four points: A final decision on the position of head coach, the amount of game time guaranteed or promised to his heir apparent Alexander Nübel, the matter of Toni Tapalović, and last but not least the modalities of his contract. While FC Bayern had already made the appointment of Hansi Flick permanent at the beginning of April, thus tying the players’ preferred candidate to the club, the other points proved more difficult.For Neuer, at the advanced age of 34 the contract negotiations also were a kind of gauge of his value. They were a test of how much backing he enjoyed within the club and how important he was to them. Because all the while the understanding was that Neuer wanted to stay. Speculation about a move never seriously gained any traction. There was a sense that Neuer wanted to test the water with what would probably be his last big contract.The whole story almost inevitably reminds you of Michael Ballack, whose contract expired in the summer of 2006. Ballack was without doubt one of the two or three best players of Bayern at that time. Rummenigge withdrew an initial contract offer by the club with the “incredible” sum (quote Hoeneß) of €36m for four years at the 2005 annual general meeting, as the midfielder did not meet a deadline. Subsequently, although the talks between the parties continued, no agreement could be reached. In May 2006, Ballack announced his move to Chelsea FC. He stated to the “Kicker”:“I did not accept FC Bayern’s new offer, which must have personally offended many in the club. […] The fact that the club made more and more populist statements about my contract situation over the months, that in the end they even tried to stir up the fans against me, is a message that was not lost on me.Michael Ballack, about his failed contract negotiations in 2005/06The situation of Ballack and Neuer, however, differs in two crucial respects: Firstly, Bayern have much more potent squad now than in the early 2000s. The gap to the international elite seems to be much smaller. On the other hand, speculation about Neuer potentially joining another club has never been as rife as it was with Ballack from the very beginning. Real Madrid, Manchester United or Chelsea FC – Bayern’s midfield star was associated with another top European club almost on a weekly basis.<a href="#the-incumbent"></a>The incumbentWhich brings us to the…
At last! After many rounds of long and sometimes tough negotiations, a good deal of which were conducted in public, Manuel Neuer has extended his contract with FC Bayern until 2023, ensuring that “koan Neuer” will remain Bayern’s first goalkeeper for the next three years.<a href="#wrangling-over-the-contract"></a>Wrangling over the contractThe farce surrounding Manuel Neuer’s contract extension has been a constant fixture in football media since the beginning of the year. In January, initial reports about the negotiations surfaced, and subsequently in March and April both Neuer’s supposed demands for duration and salary somehow transpired. In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, the figures mentioned seemed astronomical and presented the goalkeeper as the prototype of the unconscionable, avaricious footballer.The publication of the demands was a tipping point for Neuer and his agent Thomas Kroth. The German international decided to express his frustration in the Springer press. In other words, the very paper that had made the contract details public in the first place.In our blog in April, Jan quite rightly concluded that bickering over the contract in public would not produce a winner on either side.“FC Bayern find themselves spread out all over the tabloid media and cannot make another important contract decision in peace. If you lead contract negotiations through the media, everybody loses.”Jan, about the contract extension of Manuel Neuer<a href="#the-struggle-for-power"></a>The struggle for powerAccording to the media, Neuer above all insisted on four points: A final decision on the position of head coach, the amount of game time guaranteed or promised to his heir apparent Alexander Nübel, the matter of Toni Tapalović, and last but not least the modalities of his contract. While FC Bayern had already made the appointment of Hansi Flick permanent at the beginning of April, thus tying the players’ preferred candidate to the club, the other points proved more difficult.For Neuer, at the advanced age of 34 the contract negotiations also were a kind of gauge of his value. They were a test of how much backing he enjoyed within the club and how important he was to them. Because all the while the understanding was that Neuer wanted to stay. Speculation about a move never seriously gained any traction. There was a sense that Neuer wanted to test the water with what would probably be his last big contract.The whole story almost inevitably reminds you of Michael Ballack, whose contract expired in the summer of 2006. Ballack was without doubt one of the two or three best players of Bayern at that time. Rummenigge withdrew an initial contract offer by the club with the “incredible” sum (quote Hoeneß) of €36m for four years at the 2005 annual general meeting, as the midfielder did not meet a deadline. Subsequently, although the talks between the parties continued, no agreement could be reached. In May 2006, Ballack announced his move to Chelsea FC. He stated to the “Kicker”:“I did not accept FC Bayern’s new offer, which must have personally offended many in the club. […] The fact that the club made more and more populist statements about my contract situation over the months, that in the end they even tried to stir up the fans against me, is a message that was not lost on me.Michael Ballack, about his failed contract negotiations in 2005/06The situation of Ballack and Neuer, however, differs in two crucial respects: Firstly, Bayern have much more potent squad now than in the early 2000s. The gap to the international elite seems to be much smaller. On the other hand, speculation about Neuer potentially joining another club has never been as rife as it was with Ballack from the very beginning. Real Madrid, Manchester United or Chelsea FC – Bayern’s midfield star was associated with another top European club almost on a weekly basis.<a href="#the-incumbent"></a>The incumbentWhich brings us to the…