German Football Association denies internal rift over Neuer's World Cup return
| Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images |
Just a few weeks before the World Cup, Manuel Neuer confirmed that he would come out of international retirement to feature for Germany at the tournament.
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann's decision to recall the 40-year-old caused a huge public stir – and, according to a recent report from German outlet ran, also sparked internal tensions within the national team.
The report claimed that several players were unhappy with Neuer’s return and that goalkeeping coach Andreas Kronenberg even considered resigning.
However, the German Football Association (DFB) has now firmly dismissed those claims.
“The DFB denies both a unilateral decision by Julian Nagelsmann regarding the goalkeeping situation and a resignation threat from Andreas Kronenberg,” the DFB stated.
While the decision was discussed internally in a “controversial and critical” manner, the entire team ultimately stood “united” behind it, according to the statement.
Ran’s report also suggested that Neuer had pushed for Alexander Nübel – whom he knows from their time together at Bayern Munich – to be left out of the squad. The DFB has also denied that claim.
“The DFB also clearly denies that Manuel Neuer influenced the squad selection in any way, or that he imposed conditions for his comeback, such as requiring Alexander Nübel to be removed from the squad or Jonas Urbig to be included,” the statement added.
