Manuel Neuer is hoping to lead Bayern Munich to glory in the Champions League as he aims to end his illustrious career with a third European crown. 

Bayern begin their quest for Champions League glory on Thursday against Bodo/Glimt at Allianz Arena as they look to improve on last season's shortcomings in Europe. 

Vincent Kompany's side were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain, losing 6-5 on aggregate to extend their wait for another European crown. 

The Bundesliga giants last won the Champions League in 2019-20 when they defeated PSG in the final, but they have fallen short of winning a seventh title in the competition.  

Neuer has won the Champions League twice during his time with Bayern and is in line to make his 162nd appearance in the competition this week. Of all the goalkeepers to play in the Champions League, only Real Madrid's Iker Casillas (177) has appeared more. 

On August 28, Neuer featured for the 600th time in Bayern colours, becoming the fifth player to achieve the feat, while it was also the 21st consecutive Bundesliga season he has played in, placing him just one campaign behind Klaus Fichtel's all-time record. 

In July, Neuer revealed that the 2026-27 season is likely to be his final campaign in professional football, and if it is to be his final chapter, he intends to go out by winning everything available to Bayern. 

"I'm going into the season with all the possible aims we can achieve. We have the potential, which is also a reason I continued," Neuer told reporters. 

"It would mean everything to me personally to win the Champions League a third time.

"I don't want to speak too much about titles, though. We're at the start now, and we know we have difficult games ahead."

Bayern have won 36 of their last 38 home Champions League group/league phase matches (D2) since losing to Manchester City back in December 2013 under Pep Guardiola.

They have also won their opening game in each of their last 23 major European campaigns (22 in the Champions League, one in the UEFA Cup), stretching back to 2003-04.

Kompany's side had a relatively quiet transfer window, signing just four players, including Ismael Saibari from PSV and Eintracht Frankfurt's Nathaniel Brown. 

"It's nuances. They were even contests, including last year against Real Madrid and PSG. We have the potential," Neuer said on what Bayern needed to reach this year's final. 

"Those experiences will also help us. We have the desire to get back there. It's our big goal to be Champions League winners.

"We've experienced bitter defeats, but it's also an added dose of motivation for us that we want to play in Madrid next summer."

The Opta supercomputer has assigned Bayern an 18% chance of winning the Champions League, with only Arsenal (21%) better fancied in its pre-tournament simulations. 

Man City (15%), Barcelona (8%), Liverpool (6%) and PSG (6%) are also among the favourites, though Neuer has had his say on who he believes are the favourites for the title. 

"It's the usual suspects, the finalists of recent years. Barcelona also have a good squad," Neuer said when asked who his favourites were for the Champions League.

"It will become clearer as we head towards the knockout stage. Everyone will have ups and downs. I expect it will be the usual suspects."