GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY - APRIL 13: (FILE PHOTO) Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer of Schalke gestures during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final second leg match between Schalke 04 and Inter Milan at Veltins Arena on April 13, 2011 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Keeper Manuel Neuer resigns a renewal of his contract and will leave Schalke after 20 years of membership. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images)
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Manuel Neuer, widely considered to be one of the top goalkeepers in Europe, has officially been transferred to Bayern Munich from Bundesliga rival Schalke. As recently as this weekend, the move had been reported as finished, but Schalke officials maintained they had not yet decided to accept the offer. The transfer bid was rumored to be worth as much as €25 million.
After finishing third in the Bundesliga table, Munich earned a spot in next season's Champions League. Neuer had just one year left on his contract, and Schalke was coming off a season in which they finished 14th, just four points above the relegation zone.
Neuer is just 25 and has already earned 18 caps with the German national team and helped anchor a Schalke defense that was much better than their table position would suggest. Their 44 goals against were the fewest of any team that did not qualify for Champions League.
"We are very pleased to have signed the No. 1 goalkeeper in Germany but also one of the top 'keepers in the world to a long-term contract," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the Associated Press.