Nübel made a total of only four competitive appearances behind “top dog” Neuer, who never accepted him. As a result, the former U21 national team goalkeeper—after just one disappointing season—was first loaned to AS Monaco through 2023 and then to VfB Stuttgart until the end of the past season.
After an outstanding first year with Stuttgart, which saw them finish as runners-up in the league, FC Bayern then—somewhat surprisingly for Nübel—extended his contract early by five years, offering great prospects for the future and a significant pay raise, even though the backup goalkeeper had long hesitated to commit given his previous experiences.
At the same time, Julian Nagelsmann called up Nübel as the fourth goalkeeper to the DFB squad for the home European Championship and stated at the time of the nomination that he would take the entire quartet to the tournament.
But shortly before the tournament began, he ultimately dropped the Paderborn native from the final roster—though the DFB denies that Neuer had already spoken out against his rival’s inclusion at that time. After the European Championship and Neuer’s retirement from the national team, Nübel became a regular starter and, following Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s injuries, moved up to number two behind Oliver Baumann.
