Rummenigge reveals remarkable conversation with Neuer that convinced goalkeeper to join Bayern

Since joining Bayern Munich from Schalke 04 in 2011, Manuel Neuer has established himself as a club legend and one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time.

As Bayern's chairman at the time, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was heavily involved in the negotiations that ultimately led to the shot-stopper making the switch to Munich.

In an interview with Bundesliga.com, the 71-year-old looked back on a particular episode following a game between Bayern and Schalke ahead of Neuer's move – an encounter that proved decisive in convincing the goalkeeper to join the Bavarian giants.

“We had a DFB Cup semi-final against Schalke, and our coach at the time, Louis van Gaal, made a comment that wasn’t particularly flattering. He said we didn’t really need Manuel Neuer. We had Thomas Kraft in goal, who was OK, but Manuel Neuer was already on a completely different level,” Rummenigge recalled, adding:

"Our ultras in the Südkurve put up their banners and there were verbal insults and so on. I remember Uli and I sitting together, absolutely furious. We lost the first leg, and Manuel Neuer had played like a god. Unfortunately, he was still on the wrong side at Schalke at the time.

"After the game, I went down to the dressing room area. I bumped into Horst Heldt, who was Schalke’s sporting director at the time. I asked him, ‘Horst, could I have a quick word with Manuel?’ We were already quite far along in our discussions with Schalke about bringing him to Bayern. He said yes.

"Manuel came out wearing nothing but a towel, and I told him, ‘Manuel, I want to apologise unreservedly for what happened. It was disgraceful, and we won’t simply carry on as if nothing had happened.’

"He replied as though nothing had happened and asked me just one question: ‘Are you and Mr Hoeneß in favour of me coming?’ I said, ‘Of course. We’ll do everything we can to bring you here. You’re the most important signing we could make.’ He said, ‘Then I’ll come.’

“I remember thinking that, after everything he’d been through, he still stood by us. I’ll never forget that.”

Rummenigge also spoke at length about how Neuer has transformed the art of goalkeeping and the influence he has had on Bayern.

“He changed everything. No one else had done what he did. Goalkeeping used to have very little to do with playing with your feet, or with football itself. In his first year with Pep Guardiola, he completely revolutionised the position,” he said.

"I remember him sometimes standing 40 or 50 metres outside his own goal. Then those long balls would come and he’d deal with them, sometimes with what I always call his ‘heel, toe, tip’ technique.

“The spectators would give him a standing ovation as he played the ball to a team-mate in the outfield with pinpoint precision. He revolutionised goalkeeping, and that’s how the position is interpreted today. I have to say that the origins of the modern goalkeeping game lie with Manuel,” added Rummenigge, declaring Neuer the best goalkeeper Bayern have ever had, ahead of other club legends such as Sepp Maier and Oliver Kahn.