Neuer's 'very hard time' at Bayern explained by coach who reveals incredible backstory

The Bayern Munich and Germany no.1 has been out of action since the World Cup, having broken his leg in a skiing accident which ended his season.

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During his time on the sidelines, former Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann opted to remove goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic, a decision which caused plenty of media attention shortly before Nagelsmann was sacked.

Schalke youth team coach Norbert Elgert is famed for developing Neuer and many other of Germany's top talents including Mesut Ozil, Leroy Sane and Julian Draxler, and offered some insight into Neuer while in conversation with talkSPORT.com.

"I had contact with him some weeks ago because he has a very hard time with a big, big injury skiing," he said.

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"Then his friend and long-time goalkeeping coach from Bayern Munich, Toni Tapalovic, was sacked, it was a very hard time for him.

"They're very close, it's the closest person, they are together every day.

"In these times I call them, when they have such a big life, I call them only when they win a very big title or when they have hard times."

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Elgert helped Neuer emerge from Schalke's academy to star for the first team between 2005 and 2011, where he established himself as one of the best goalkeeping talents in the world.

Neuer would go on to lift every trophy on offer with Bayern and Germany, with his 2014 World Cup winning performance deemed one of the greatest of all time.

The Gelsenkirchen-born 37-year-old still terrifies forwards to this day with his incredible presence one-on-one, while his sweeping ability and ball playing skills revolutionised the position long before the likes of Alisson Becker and Ederson Moraes.

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All of that comes with an imposing 6ft 4in frame, but as Elgert revealed, that wasn't always the case.

"His development has a history," he said. "He was in the academy quite early and he was very small.

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"You couldn't see then that he would become a goalkeeper; he was schooled in both directions as an outfield player and as a goalie.

"He had very good coaches the whole time here but what was very striking about Manuel from the beginning onwards was his composure.

"He was in it, big composure, no pressure, no stress, he always was relaxed.

"He was very talented, he worked hard but always with fun for challenges, for playing football, for being a goalkeeper, for playing in the field, he was always very relaxed and he was very stress-resistant."