Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno hasn’t involved with the Germany squad since March 2024.
Julian Nagelsmann did call up Leno in October 2024 to be the third-choice stopper. This didn’t please the 33-year-old, who refused to join the squad.
The Fulham player had then explained he wasn’t going to join the Germany camp just to sit on the bench. Therefore, he had rejected the call up.
Leno continued to be the first-choice stopper for Marco Silva’s side. At the weekend, he made his eighth league start of this season in Fulham’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal. After the match, Sport1 caught up with the Germany to discuss his status with Die Mannschaft.
The player explained he’s not putting pressure on himself for the decision he made more than a year ago.
“I’m quite relaxed about it now and I’m not putting any pressure on myself. I’ll be 34 in March; I made the decision consciously,” he said.
He played nine matches for his country since making his debut in 2016. Despite Julian Nagelsmann not considering him October 2024, the Fulham man makes it clear he hasn’t retired from international football.
“Of course, I never said I was retiring; there was more media coverage. I made the decision and said I was more focused on Fulham than traveling with the DFB and then sitting on the bench or in the stands,” Leno explained.
The Fulham goalkeeper revealed he’s in contact with Germany goalkeeper coach Andreas Kronenberg as the door for the national team return is still open.
“I’m in contact with the goalkeeping coach [Kronenberg],” he added.
“Everything was handled very respectfully. It’s not as if there was a verbal altercation or anything disrespectful happened. Julian Nagelsmann also said that no door is closed. Of course, the door hasn’t opened any further.”