Borussia Dortmund centre-back Niklas Süle is hanging up his boots at the end of the season, when his contract expires.
“I would like to announce that I will be ending my career this summer,” Süle announced on the “Spielmacher” podcast.
The former Germany international had been considering bringing his career to an end for a while, with the knee injury he sustained against TSG Hoffenheim last month proving to be the final straw.
“What I felt when our team doctor did the drawer test in the dressing room in Hoffenheim (a test to detect a possible cruciate ligament tear – Ed.), looked at the physio and shook his head, and the physio did it too and didn’t feel any resistance either – I went into the shower and cried for ten minutes. In that moment, I really thought: ‘It’s torn’,” Süle said.
“When I went for an MRI the next day and received the good news (that it wasn’t a cruciate ligament tear after all), it was one thousand per cent clear to me that it was over. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than looking forward to life – being independent, going on holiday, spending time with my children – only to then have to come to terms with my third cruciate ligament tear.”
Süle, 30, joined Borussia Dortmund from Bayern Munich in 2022 and made 109 appearances for the Black and Yellows.
The 49-time Germany international made a total of 299 Bundesliga appearances for Hoffenheim, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
