Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential goalkeepers in the history of the sport,[nb 1] Neuer has been described as a "sweeper-keeper" because of his playing style and speed when rushing off his line to anticipate opponents, going out of the penalty area.

[53] On 25 April 2012, Neuer saved penalty kicks from both Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká and helped Bayern through the 2011–12 Champions League semi-finals against Real Madrid.

The game featured several saves from both keepers, and Neuer won the duel against Roman Weidenfeller having only conceded once to İlkay Gündoğan on a penalty shot.

[62] On 9 February, Bayern faced Arsenal in the Champions League knockout phase and Neuer saved the penalty from Mesut Özil in the first half.

Neuer conceded twice in FC Bayern's matches against Arsenal as the Bavarians beat the English team with an impressive 10–2 aggregate in the round of 16 of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League.

[85] On 12 August 2018, Neuer captained his side in the first competitive match of the season as Bayern won the 2018 DFL-Supercup by defeating Eintracht Frankfurt with a 5–0 victory.

[94] On 24 September 2020, Neuer saved a one-on-one chance from Sevilla's Youssef En-Nesyri in the 87th minute in the 2020 UEFA Super Cup, which Bayern Munich won 2–1 after extra-time.

On 10 December 2022, Neuer announced that he broke his leg during a ski trip at Roßkopf on Spitzingsee in Bavaria, which would force him to miss the rest of the season.

[106] On 12 January 2024, in a 3–0 win over Hoffenheim, Neuer played his 500th match for FC Bayern to go level with Bastian Schweinsteiger in tenth place in the club's all-time appearance rankings.

[109] In the Champions League semi-final second leg, he produced decisive saves against Real Madrid, before losing the ball in the 88th minute which led to conceding the equalizer, followed by another stoppage time goal and a 4–3 defeat on aggregate.

[112] Later that year, on 3 December, in the round of 16 of the DFB-Pokal against Bayer Leverkusen, Neuer received a straight red card for a body-check on Jeremie Frimpong outside the box in the 17th minute.

[118] After being named on the substitutes bench for a 1–1 draw with China on 29 May,[119] Neuer made his debut in a match against the United Arab Emirates on 2 June, playing the full 90 minutes of a 7–2 win in Dubai.

[120][121] On 17 November, one week after the suicide of Robert Enke,[122] Neuer made his home debut for the Germany senior team at the Arena AufSchalke in a 2–2 draw with Ivory Coast.

[123] Twelve minutes after replacing Tim Wiese as a half-time substitute, Neuer kicked a clearance against Ivorian player Emmanuel Eboué to concede an equalising goal.

[125] On 4 May 2010, it was announced that René Adler, who was expected to be Germany's starting goalkeeper at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, would be absent from the tournament due to a rib injury.

[citation needed] He retained a close range volley shot by Hamit Altıntop, and then he quickly threw the ball to the halfway line into the feet of Thomas Müller, who immediately provided the assist for Mario Gómez's opening goal.

[134] After keeping clean sheets in group matches against Portugal and the United States, Neuer had an outstanding performance in a 2–1 win against Algeria after extra time in the round of 16, when he had to play as a sweeper-keeper to defend their counter-attacks.

[137] On 13 July, in the FIFA World Cup Final against Argentina, Neuer was not heavily tested, but he nonetheless commanded his penalty area well, challenging attacking runs by Gonzalo Higuaín and Rodrigo Palacio that caused them to shoot wide of the net.

[142] On 2 July 2016, in the quarter-final match against Italy national football team, Neuer broke compatriot Sepp Maier's record of not conceding a goal at a major tournament for 481 minutes.

[145] Prior to the start of qualification, on 1 September 2016, Neuer was named new captain of the national team, following Bastian Schweinsteiger's retirement from international football.

[147][148] On 15 May 2018, Neuer was selected in Germany's 27-man preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup even though he had not played a match since fracturing his foot for a second time in September 2017.

[152] On 23 June, Neuer made several saves as his side defeated Sweden with a 2–1 victory in their second group stage match, which kept the Germans from being knocked out of the World Cup.

[153] However, in their final Group F match, Germany were knocked out of the tournament as they lost 2–0 to South Korea,[154] with Neuer losing the ball to Ju Se-jong in the opposition half, leading to Son Heung-min's second goal in the 96th minute.

[155] On 11 June 2019, in Germany's UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying 8–0 victory over Estonia, Neuer kept the 37th clean sheet of his international career, breaking a record set by Sepp Maier.

[172] He made his first appearance for the national team since the 2022 World Cup in a pre-tournament friendly against Ukraine in Nuremberg, keeping a clean sheet in an 0–0 draw on 3 June.

He played in all five of Germany's matches at the tournament, keeping clean sheets against Hungary in the group stage and Denmark in the round of 16 as the team reached the quarter-final, where they lost 2–1 to Spain.

Regarding his technical skills on the ball in comparison to other players in his role, Neuer has stated that he could play in the German third division as a center-back if so desired.

[177] Despite the praise for his style of play and role in the development of the goalkeeper position in football, Neuer has also received criticism in the German media for his reflex-like objection to attacking moves in his box regardless of whether they violate rules or not.

[187] In November 2022, Neuer revealed that he had to undergo three surgeries on his face in order to treat skin cancer, which later urged him to work with Angelique Kerber to promote sun cream.

[191] On 21 May 2017, Neuer and Weiss married in Tannheim, Austria, in a civil ceremony, which was followed by a church wedding in the Cathedral of Santissima della Madia in Monopoli, Italy, on 10 June.