Manuel Neuer retires from international football
| Manuel Neuer. | Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Bayern Munich veteran Manuel Neuer has announced his retirement from international football on Instagram.
"The day had to come at some point," explained Neuer in the video posted on his Instagram profile.
“Anyone who knows me knows that this decision wasn't easy for me.
"It's been over 15 years since my debut, when we played in the United Arab Emirates and I was extremely nervous," said the goalkeeper.
"When I look back today, it fills me with pride and also with a lot of gratitude to have been on the pitch with all my teammates and also to have been captain of the German national football team for over seven years.
"Personally, I loved wearing the German national team jersey. Thank you very much for that,’ said Neuer at the end of the video."
Neuer, 38, made his Germany debut in 2009 and went on to represent his country 124 times - more than any other German goalkeeper.
He was part of the German team that finished third in the 2010 World Cup and won the 2014 World Cup.
