Manuel Neuer Blasts Donnarumma After Musiala Suffers Serious Injury in Bayern’s Club World Cup Loss to PSG
Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer strongly criticized Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma after a challenge between the two led to a serious injury for Bayern midfielder Jamal Musiala during their Club World Cup quarterfinal clash on Saturday.
Musiala, 22, suffered a suspected severe left leg injury late in the first half after a 50-50 collision with Donnarumma. Though the Italian keeper won the ball, he appeared visibly shaken after realizing the extent of Musiala’s injury. Medical staff rushed onto the field with a stretcher, and the injury was deemed too graphic to be shown on the stadium’s big screens.
Bayern sporting director Max Eberl later confirmed Musiala had been taken to the hospital for evaluation.
Neuer didn’t hold back in his post-match comments. “That’s a situation where you don’t have to go in like that,” he told Sky Germany. “It was risky. He accepted the possibility of injuring an opponent.”
“I approached him and said, ‘Don’t you want to check on our player?’ Eventually, he did. Fairness matters. I would’ve reacted differently.”
Donnarumma later shared an emotional Instagram post, featuring a photo of himself visibly distraught along with a message for Musiala: “All my prayers and well wishes are with you.”
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany also expressed concern. “It didn’t look good,” he said. “From what I saw, it seemed like an ankle injury. What frustrates me most is not the result, but that it happened to someone who plays with such joy and is so important for our team.”
Musiala, a standout for both Bayern and the German national team, had scored three goals in the tournament heading into the match—just one behind Golden Boot leaders Ángel Di María and Marcos Leonardo. He has 20 goals this season across all competitions.
The injury occurred moments before halftime with the score tied 0-0. Serge Gnabry came on in Musiala’s place after the break. PSG ultimately secured a 2-0 victory despite being reduced to nine men following red cards to Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernández.
PSG players offered their support after the game. “These things are part of football, unfortunately,” said scorer Désiré Doué. “Now we just hope Musiala recovers well.”
Defender Achraf Hakimi added, “He’s a great player, and we want to see him back on the pitch soon. He has our full support.”
Musiala has emerged as one of Europe’s brightest young stars, winning German National Team Player of the Year in 2024 and finishing runner-up for the Golden Boy award in 2023. He made his Bayern debut at 17 and became the youngest player to represent Germany in a World Cup since 1958.
With Musiala now potentially sidelined long-term and Bayern having missed out on transfer target Florian Wirtz—who joined Liverpool—the team may face the start of next season with a key gap in midfield.
“We’ll handle things as they come,” said Eberl. “We played a strong match against PSG, and we’ll focus on what’s ahead.”
