Plans for a second career
Former Bundesliga player ends his career at the age of 33
November 25, 2025 – 8:43 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
Philipp Klement was on the pitch for teams like Mainz, Stuttgart, Paderborn and Kaiserslautern. Now he has announced the end of his career.
Philipp Klement is calling it quits: The 33-year-old midfielder, who was under contract with 1. FC Kaiserslautern until the summer, has ended his career. He announced this in “Kicker”. “My closest friends are currently starting their careers in the professional world. For me, my first career ended at the age of 33. Most days feel slowed down, the other days feel rather unstructured and unproductive. For over 14 years, my daily routine was not exactly characterized by self-determination. This is a change that is not easy for me,” said Klement.
Now the former Bundesliga professional wants to look forward and continue his education. Klement plans to obtain the necessary coaching licenses and attend the DFB “Management in Professional Football” course. “I still love football. The atmosphere in the stadium. The beauty of the game. The time in professional football. A nice time. My goal is to start a second career in professional football. I’m preparing for that and am now bubbling with ideas. I just love football too much to be able to imagine life without it,” he explained.
Klement can bring a lot of experience to possible activities. He made 26 appearances in the Bundesliga, 103 in the 2nd Bundesliga and 98 in the 3rd League for teams such as VfB Stuttgart, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Hansa Rostock and SC Paderborn. He was most recently under contract in Kaiserslautern. His last game was on matchday 34 when the “Red Devils” lost 4-0 to 1. FC Köln.
The game in which Cologne secured promotion to the Bundesliga. “I’m standing between masked police officers protecting the players’ area and looking at the cheering crowds on the field. Strange feeling. Was that my last appearance in professional football?” Klement asked in “Kicker”. He now gave himself the answer.