Germany goalkeeper Neuer extends contract at Bayern

BERLIN - Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has put pen to paper on a contract extension, the German champions announced in an official statement on Wednesday.

After a lot of back and forth, Neuer has signed a new deal which keeps him with the Bavarians until June 2023.

"FC Bayern is very happy and satisfied that Manuel has extended his contract until June 2023. Manuel is the best goalkeeper in the world and our team captain," Bayern's CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the club's official homepage.

Germany's No 1 joined Bayern Munich from league rivals Schalke 04 in the summer of 2011. With Bayern, he lifted seven Bundesliga titles, five German Cups, the UEFA Champions League trophy, and the FIFA Club World Cup.

The 34-year-old custodian, now in his ninth season with the current Bundesliga front runners, is on course to clinch his eighth title.

"In the weeks of the shutdown as a result of the corona pandemic, I didn't want to make a decision because nobody knew, when and how things would go on," Neuer said.

"It was also important to me to continue working with our goalkeeper coach Toni Tapalovic. Now that it has been resolved, I look to the future with great optimism. I feel very comfortable and Bayern is my home. FC Bayern is and remains one of the top European clubs in football."

Bayern Munich sits atop the Bundesliga standings with a four-point advantage to the runner up Borussia Dortmund and will encounter struggling Eintracht Frankfurt at the 27th round on Saturday.