Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer: Joining Manchester United was never an option

FC Schalke 04: Manuel Neuer

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Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has confirmed he will not be joining Manchester United in the summer, insisted a switch to Old Trafford was “never an option”.

The German international pulled off a string of fine saves to keep Schalke’s deficit to two goals in their semi-final first-leg tie.

Having been previously revealed as a candidate to replace United’s retiring first choice, Edwin van der Sar, the 23-year-old, who is thought to be joining fellow Bundesliga side Bayern Munich this summer, has dismissed any move to replace the Dutchman.

“Manchester United was never an option for me. I will focus now on my performances and my team, all the other things don’t matter at the moment,” Neuer told Sky Germany.

Neuer was disappointed with his team’s performance in the 2-0 defeat to United, a result which leaves their chances of reaching the Champions League final looking doubtful.

“We played with too much respect in the beginning. We knew of course that Manchester United are a big team but Inter were too. Today we wasn’t as strong as the quarter-final. We weren’t compact enough,” he added.”

The highly-rated keeper also stated that playing at Old Trafford for the first-leg may have given Schalke a better advantage.

“The fans know we’ve done big thing in reaching the semis. But this doesn’t count in such a match, you want to win there. Maybe it would have been better to have an away match first,” Neuer concluded.

Sir Alex Ferguson reserved special praise for Neuer following his heroic performance in Gelsenkirchen on Tuesday evening, saying: “Manuel Neuer is unbelievable. That was the best performance I’ve ever seen from a goalkeeper in a a match against us.”