Manuel Neuer sings controversial nationalist song on break in Croatia

The captain of Bayern Munich and Germany's national team, Manuel Neuer, has come under criticism after appearing to sing a controversial Croatian song linked to far-right nationalists.

34 year-old Neuer, on holiday in Croatia with his goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic, who is German but has Croatian heritage, was filmed singing 'Lijepa li si' (You are beautiful) along with others at a social gathering.

The song, written by folk singer Marko Perkovic, makes reference to an area of Bosnia-Herzegovina (Herceg-Bosna) claimed by Croatian nationalists.

Perkovic is known for sympathising with Croatia's World War II Ustasha pro-Nazi regime and earned the nickname 'Thompson' after the brand of weapon he carried during the Croatian war of independence in the early 1990s.

Neuer's personal manager has told German newspaper Bild that the goalkeeper does not speak Croatian, so it remains uncertain whether he understood the words of the song.

Image credits: AP