Alexander Nübel, the keeper on loan from FC Bayern to Monaco, explains frankly that he is already looking forward to his footballer’s pension at the age of 25 – and thus reveals an omission in Munich.
While FC Bayern is discussing its future place in the football cosmos and to be or not to be, an interesting statement comes from the south of France from the employee Alexander Nübel, who is leased to AS Monaco. The magazine sports picture said the 25-year-old goalkeeper that he was “extremely looking forward to the time after my career”. That career denies him access to all the much more important things in life: home, friends, family, nature. He can’t do much with the nature of his place of residence on the Mediterranean, from his home village near Paderborn Nübel misses nothing less than – “everything! The chirping of the birds, a garden …, the idyll”.
There have always been footballers who don’t really like football. National player Manuel Friedrich was known for having no idea about the current Bundesliga table and preferring to play golf anyway – today he is a golf instructor in Hubbelrath near Düsseldorf. Another, not insignificant national player – name known to the editors and by no means an isolated case in the scene – preferred to go to bed early instead of watching the Champions League final. The Norwegian goalkeeper Espen Baardsen from FC Everton ended his career at the age of 25 because he was no longer interested in football. He now works in the financial sector.
Undoubtedly, it is honorable if one would rather enjoy the song of the birds than vainly crave the applause of the public. It is also definitely to be commended if someone appreciates the hidden charm of East Westphalia more than the false glamor in nouveau riche Monaco. And it shows a wise spirit from a young age not to value career and work above real life.
On the other hand, Oliver Kahn, the CEO of FC Bayern, may have heard Nübel’s message with surprise. The interview could tempt him to call fellow board member Hasan Salihamidzic and ask what kind of person he hired to succeed Manuel Neuer two years ago. From the start, the controversial transfer gave little hint of a feeling for the difficult situation and the people involved. Now he still sticks out obliquely into the picture.
Nübel recently let it be known that he does not want to return to Bayern Munich if Neuer extends his contract. He has even less desire on the bench than on the illusory world of Monaco. At the time, the Munich team promised him that Nübel would be allowed to play regularly in the Bayern goal, but they had failed to ask Manuel Neuer what he thought of the division of labor. The answer was also clear: nothing. It is possible that Neuer, 36, has been playing football longer than his successor Nübel.