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Manuel Neuer hints at future Bayern exit amid rising Premier League money

Manuel Neuer has not ruled out leaving Bayern Munich in the future amid the increasing wages on offer in the Premier League, the Germany international has told Funke Media Group.

Neuer, 29, joined Bayern from Schalke in the summer of 2011 after coming through the ranks of the Royal Blues' youth academy, and had been a fan favourite at the Veltins Arena due to his bond with the club's Ultra groups.

Bayern fans had been against signing the Schalke supporter at first, but he soon won them over as he filled the gap Oliver Kahn left when retiring from professional football in 2008.

"FC Bayern are only my second club," Neuer said. "I am someone who takes a lot of time before making a decision, and then has to be fully behind it. I can make other plans than an outfield player."

Neuer has won three Bundesligas, two DFB Pokals and one Champions League at Bayern, adding to the one DFB Pokal he lifted with Schalke in 2011.

He is also a World Cup winner with Germany, and in 2014 finished third in the annual Ballon d'Or vote.

Asked whether his trophies with Bayern could lead to him seeking a new challenge at one point -- specifically in reference to the Premier League where the new TV contract all but guarantees higher wages -- Neuer did not rule a future move.

"I am always motivated," he said. "No matter where I pay, I enjoy football. I love to compete with the very best. That's why I feel great at FC Bayern.

"But I can also not rule out that someday I will have the idea to do something different. But, fundamentally, the contract until 2019 points the way. It's only January 2016."

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin believes that the money on offer in the Premier League will lead to many Bundesliga players moving to England, while Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says the TV deal "poses a great threat to all other European leagues."

But for now, Neuer is targeting an historic fourth consecutive Bundesliga title at Bayern.

"No team in Bundesliga history has achieved that," the keeper said. "That's our biggest goal. And it will be tough task for us."

Neuer warned that despite Bayern's eight-point lead on second-placed Borussia Dortmund, in football "everything can go fast," and that it would already be a successful season should they win the domestic title.

The keeper also said that Pep Guardiola's upcoming departure from the Allianz Arena this summer "is not a problem" for Bayern, adding: "We are all aware the switching clubs is part of the business.

"It's not different with us players. We are all professionals. No player will perform better or worse, but rather put in the same performances as if the coach were to stay. Nothing will change."