36-year-old Manuel Neuer, the 2014 world champion, is a man-institution in German football. He has, among others, 10 league titles with Bayern, six domestic cups and two Champions Leagues won. And although he has avoided scandals for years, he has not left the front pages of newspapers recently. Everything fell apart in December when he broke his leg skiing. And yet his contract, which expires in the summer of 2024, strictly prohibits extreme sports.
Last week, Bayern parted ways with goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic. The reason for the decision was the conflict between the 42-year-old and coach Julian Nagelsmann. The problem is that Tapalović is a friend of Neuer, who did not bite his tongue in an interview with “Sueddeutsche Zeitung”.
– It was a blow to me. I felt as if my heart was being ripped out. It was the most brutal thing I’ve experienced in my career. And I’ve experienced a lot. All the goalkeepers burst into tears. We’ve been torn apart,” said the goalkeeper.
It didn’t take long for the club to respond. “What Manuel has said in parts of these two interviews in connection with the sacking of Toni Tapalovic is not befitting him as a captain and does not fit with Bayern Munich’s values,” Oliver Kahn, president of Bayern Munich, thundered.
Neuer to pay record fine?
Christian Falk, journalist for “Sport Bild” and author of the book “FC Bayern. The Untold Stories of the Football Superpower”, reports that the goalkeeper can pay a record fine. For breach of contract, a fine of a monthly gross salary may be imposed, which in the case of Neuer would amount to around 1.5 million euros.
On the “Bayern Insider” podcast, Falk also spoke about famous penalties from the past. Philipp Lahm, the former captain of Bayern, once criticized Bayern’s transfer policy in an interview and was fined €50,000 for it. In turn, the highest financial penalty in the history of the Bundesliga belongs to Rafinha, who – while playing for Schalke – was to pay as much as 700,000 euros. It was a punishment for the fact that he went with Brazil to the Olympic Games in Beijing without the club’s consent.
Source: Sport.PL
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
