Interview with Gianluigi Buffon for Manuel Neuer’s 40th birthday

Manuel Neuer turns 40 on 27 March. To mark the occasion, we spoke with the only person who really understands what the Bayern goalkeeper has achieved in his remarkable career and has proven once again into 2026, Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon.

Interview with Gianluigi Buffon

There are famous footballers. And then there are football icons who have defined an era and changed the game itself. Buffon clearly belongs in the second category. When the ‘51’ editorial team was thinking about which sportsman to talk to about Neuer’s upcoming birthday, it was immediately clear there can only be one. Il Grande Gigi, now 48, was a World Cup winner and five-time World Goalkeeper of the Year, just like Manu, led his club and his country as captain for many years, and continued to deliver top-class performances well into his 40s. When we contacted his team, the reply came straight away: “Sì, certo.” He’s happy to make time for a chat about Manuel and his great clashes with Bayern. Buffon invited the ‘51’ team to his flat in Milan for a meeting, located right in the city centre, with a view of the cathedral. For an hour, Italy’s current head of delegation talked about his admiration for Neuer, the modern game of goalkeeping and the battle against time, which may be hopeless, but is not without honour. 

You’re eight years older than Neuer. When did you first hear about this young German goalkeeper?
“That was in the spring of 2011, when he played for Schalke at the San Siro. He had a great physique, an imposing build, and he seemed very motivated. A bit like I was at the start of my career at Parma. Back then, I always came out of the goal boldly, just as Neuer liked to play outside the penalty area. I liked his attitude. He had exactly the right demeanour: lots of energy and self-confidence, sometimes bordering on excitement when coming off his line. But that’s part of being young.”

You also met on the pitch for the first time in 2011, in a friendly match between Germany and Italy.
“I was really keen to see him play live. I’d liked him and he’d made a big impression on me.”

Did you think back then that Neuer would go on to have the career he’s enjoyed over the past 15 years?
“I’m convinced that you can only imagine for yourself what will happen. I experienced it exactly the same way. As a young goalkeeper, everyone expects a lot of you, and at some point you start to believe yourself that you can conquer the world. You need that certainty, that vision of yourself in the future. But the truth is that, with experience, you realise that it gets harder and harder to stay at that level. At 30 or 31, the first injuries start to appear, and perhaps a little criticism begins to surface.”

But neither you nor Neuer ever let that stop you.
“As a goalkeeper, you have to be a very special person, otherwise you won’t make it. On the one hand, there’s the technique and the craft; on the other, the mental challenge. That’s the difference between those who have a career spanning 20 or 25 years and those who only last 10. As you get older, it’s like running a race against the youngsters – and you can only delay it, never win.”

How do you find the joy in keeping going?
“For me, there were always two reasons. Firstly, my teammates. I spent 30 years in changing rooms and on the pitch, and I always felt that my teammates had faith in me. As long as they said, ‘Gigi’s here, he’ll save us,’ I was able to carry on.”

And second?
“The idea that I could keep improving was crucial. I’m convinced that, in many respects, I was a better goalkeeper between the ages of 38 and 45 than I was before. I did a lot of things right during that time and was always learning something new. And I loved the competition, the tough challenges.”

Just like you, Neuer has also played for very few clubs in his career. How challenging is it to always stay at the same club?
“There are two ways of thinking in football. One is that staying in the same place is comfortable. You might ask: Gigi, didn’t you ever want to prove yourself somewhere else? No? It was comfortable, wasn’t it? But staying at a top club for 20 years, proving time and again that you’re the best, is incredibly difficult. If you move every three years, you automatically have a new source of motivation.”

There are many players in Italy who have spent their entire careers at one club. Paolo Maldini was at Milan for almost 25 years; you were in Turin for nearly 20 years; and Francesco Totti spent 24 years at Roma. What sets such loyal players apart?
“It’s also about values and identity. I even went down to the second division with Juventus and lost three or four of the best years of my career. But it was important to me to send a message to the club and the fans. And not to take any shortcuts.”

One advantage is that, over the course of 10 or 20 years, you experience very different phases of a club’s history. Neuer, for example, has seen several generational changes, from Robben, Ribéry and Müller to Kimmich and now players like Musiala and Olise.
“Even though I’ve never played for Bayern, I believe I understand the club well because you can compare it to Juventus. Nothing is handed to you on a plate there; you can only stay as long as they see you as a genuine, serious professional. As long as you guarantee that you perform and behave properly.”

Is that one of the reasons for the huge success of these big clubs?
“In my view, Bayern have always been good precisely because their overall standard was so high. Things went better at times and worse at others, but whether I think back to the Olympic Stadium, where I used to play, or to the 2016 Champions League round of 16 at the Allianz Arena, it was always incredibly tough to beat Bayern. You weren’t always certain whether they would win the Champions League, but you always knew they’d be waiting for you in the quarter-finals. You can only congratulate the club on that achievement.”

Coming back to the nature of goalkeepers. You once said that goalkeepers must have masochistic and narcissistic tendencies. Why?
“Masochistic because we operate in the realm of an athlete who has to be able to endure a great deal of suffering. You always know how much you have to endure in order to succeed, and you do it anyway. We’re narcissistic because we tell ourselves: ‘Only we can do things like this.’”

Do you see yourself as a lone warrior?
“It’s about taking on this unique role, which can be a burden. There are 10 outfield players, but only one goalkeeper, so you have to feel the pride and confidence to say: ‘I can take on this responsibility, but the others cannot.’ As a goalkeeper, you’re on your own; there are moments when no one can help us. Although things have changed a bit.”

In what way?
“Because modern goalkeepers have reinterpreted their role, we felt less isolated. The way Manuel and I interacted with the team, with our defenders. We made it clear to them that they could rely on us, but we could also rely on them.”

Neuer is famous for his ability on the ball and his role as a sweeper-keeper. How significant was he in changing the role of the goalkeeper in football?
“I grew up in the 1990s, and even back then there were goalkeepers who played outside the penalty area, such as René Higuita. As a young player at Parma, I also played in a very unconventional way. It’s just that the football world didn’t quite get it back then.”

Please explain.
“Back then, I was labelled a madman. Goalkeepers weren’t supposed to venture outside the penalty area. And even the big teams just wanted a keeper who could save shots – with his hands! But some goalkeepers sensed that things were about to change and wanted to be more involved in the game. When I joined Juventus, however, they said: ‘Gigi, we know you’re a brilliant footballer, but just show us your saves.’ So I adapted.”

Then came Neuer and proved the opposite?
“First came Pep Guardiola. He started using Víctor Valdés as a player with the ball at his feet at Barcelona in 2008. And yes, then came Manuel, first at the 2010 World Cup and then, above all, in 2014, in that match against Algeria.”

In the World Cup round of 16, when he repeatedly charged out of his goal with courage and helped out in defence.
“Back then, he gave the impression of being a goalkeeper who understands the game. He knew what was going to happen; he interacted with the team. With his timing, his strength and his wonderful personality, he proved that this is the future.”

The demands placed on young goalkeepers are very high today, partly because of role models like you and Neuer. Perhaps too high?
“Goalkeepers today have to be precise with their feet and still be able to make perfect throws of 70-80 metres. But ultimately, the fundamentals haven’t changed. Who has won the Champions League in recent years? Always teams with goalkeepers who have made exceptionally good saves. Neuer’s best quality is still making saves and keeping the ball out.”

Neuer is turning 40 now…
“I’d only just moved to Paris Saint-Germain! So he can carry on for another five years [laughs]. No, please don’t. He should retire when he feels it’s the right time. I was a bit mad back then; I thought that if I went to Paris, I’d win the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper again.”

We won’t be asking you for advice, but what would you like to say to Neuer?
“I wish him all the very best from the bottom of my heart and congratulate him on his career at the very highest level. And I’d like to tell him not to rush into a decision, but to take his time and listen to his inner voice. Unlike the rest of us goalkeepers, he doesn’t have to make a decision in a fraction of a second, but rather the right one.”

This is an abridged version of the interview in March’s edition of ‘51’