Julian Nagelsmann coy over suspected Manuel Neuer return to Germany fold

Neuer retired from international football in 2024 but has enjoyed another fantastic season with Bayern Munich, helping them to reclaim the Bundesliga title.

The 40-year-old goalkeeper is still considered one of the best shot stoppers in Germany and his experience and ability to marshal a defence are invaluable assets to any team he plays for.

Rumours began to swirl of a sensational return to international football after Neuer was included in Nagelsmann's provisional 55-man squad, which is set to be reduced to 26 players ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada.

However, despite all indications pointing towards Neuer being included in the final squad, Nagelsmann refused to confirm or deny anything.

"Neuer retired of his own free will, he has repeated that several times and that is why it is not even useful to constantly discuss it," he told reporters.

"The list [of 55 players in the provisional squad] won't be published, so I won't comment on it.

"What I can say is that there are a lot of players on it, because there are 55 of them. As I just said: there are 62 phone calls, so seven are missing.

"It is always our duty to include and evaluate all eligible players who hold a German passport and are healthy. And as I said, that list also includes players who haven't even played during my tenure, but who still hold a German passport and have had a decent Bundesliga/Premier League season or whatever."

Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany added fuel to the fire by stating the Neuer was clearly the best goalkeeper in Germany, but backtracked somewhat by saying he did not want his comments to be seen as putting pressure on Nagelsmann to select the veteran in his Germany World Cup squad.