Niklas Süle, the Borussia Dortmund center-back, has announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 30 after suffering another serious knee injury. Reflecting on his decision, he said: “I couldn’t imagine anything worse than being excited about the future—being independent, going on vacation, spending time with my children—and then having to face my third anterior cruciate ligament tear.”
Struggling with weight issues in recent seasons, Süle had been contemplating retirement for some time, but the injury sustained against Hoffenheim accelerated his decision. “I felt it when our doctor performed the drawer test in the Hoffenheim dressing room. He looked at the physiotherapist and shook his head. The physiotherapist also did the test and felt nothing. I went into the shower and cried for ten minutes,” Süle recalled on the podcast *Spielmacher*, where he announced his farewell.
Although the injury turned out to be less severe than initially feared—his cruciate ligament was not completely torn—there was no turning back. “It became crystal clear to me that everything was over,” he said.
Süle began his career at Hoffenheim before joining Bayern Munich in 2017. Over five seasons with Bayern, he won five Bundesliga titles and a Champions League. He then moved to Borussia Dortmund, where he spent four campaigns before calling time on his career.