Officially
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Niklas Süle hangs up his football boots at the age of 30 after 13 seasons. “I would like to announce that I will end my career in the summer,” said the Borussia Dortmund central defender “Playmaker” podcast. The contract of the 49-time national player, who has been toying with this idea for a long time, ends on June 30, 2026.
April 18th was decisive for Süle’s decision. He suffered a knee injury in the 2-1 defeat in Hoffenheim and had to leave the field in the 42nd minute. “What I felt when our doctor did the drawer test in the dressing room in Hoffenheim (to detect a torn cruciate ligament, editor), looked at the physio and shook his head, the physio also did it and didn’t notice any stop, I went into the shower and cried for ten minutes. In that situation I really thought: ‘It’s torn’,” said Süle (quoted via bvb.de).
“When I went into the MRI the next day and got the good news (that it wasn’t a torn ACL after all), it was a thousand percent clear to me that it was over. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than actually looking forward to the time afterward – being independent, going on vacation, spending time with my children – but then having to deal with my third ACL tear.” In November 2014, Süle tore his first cruciate ligament, missing 204 days and 27 games. The second cruciate ligament injury occurred in October 2019 – he missed 183 days and was out for 27 games.
Süle about his time at BVB: “What I experienced in my first year …”
Süle moved from FC Bayern to BVB in 2022 for a free transfer with a market value of 35 million euros and signed a four-year contract that made him a top earner. His playing times fell from season to season – this season, the once most valuable German defender was on the pitch for just 629 minutes in twelve games. Since his transfer, he has been injured 49 times so far.
He played a total of 109 games for Dortmund, 117 for training club TSG Hoffenheim, for whom he made his Bundesliga debut in May 2013, and 171 games for Munich. The 1.95 meter tall defender won all major titles at club level in the Bayern jersey. These include five championships, the Champions League in 2020, the DFB Cup twice and the Club World Cup in 2021 (part of Süle’s collection of titles).
With his decision to leave the record champions for Dortmund, Süle caused a stir in 2022 and almost won the German championship in his debut season. “What I experienced in my first year when we almost became champions – the evening in the hotel, the way to the stadium. What I felt there was what I only felt before my first professional game – the nervousness, the excitement. That was one of the craziest moments before the Mainz game that I ever had. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to feel like that again in my life – with this adrenaline,” said Süle.
BVB lost the championship against Mainz on the last matchday and Süle’s second season also ended tragically with the final defeat in the Champions League against Real Madrid. “When I look back on the four years in Dortmund, there were many moments that I enjoyed. The chatter in the dressing room, the stadium – we’re talking about 80,000 here. I was always openly welcomed by the fans. I will miss that time very much. How I felt at home here. I noticed on the first day what the people in Dortmund are like: open, warm, honest. I felt extremely connected to that. My children go to daycare here. It’s already happening to us hard to leave here.”
In 2019, as a Bayern professional, he achieved a market value of 60 million euros, which, together with Mats Hummels, was the highest ever for a German defender in the Transfermarkt database. BVB colleague Nico Schlotterbeck, who was recently valued at 55 million euros, could soon surpass him.
Süle played by far the most games and minutes in his career with Joshua Kimmich. From the DFB U18 to the U21 to the national team and FC Bayern, the two were on the field together 199 times – a total of 14,462 minutes. The last time was in the bitter 1:4 in the friendly against Japan on September 9, 2023. He is followed by Thomas Müller (170 games), Serge Gnabry (161), Robert Lewandowski (153) and BVB colleague Julian Brandt (140).
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