Lukas Podolski announces retirement after guiding Gornik Zabrze to Polish Cup | OneFootball

Lukas Podolski will retire from professional football this summer after captaining Gornik Zabrze to the Polish Cup. The player said in an Instagram post that one chapter was ending and a new era beginning.

His farewell comes in Saturday's home match against Radomiak Radom, two days after he became Gornik's owner. Podolski has been under contract with the club since 2021.

In a farewell video he laid out shirts of every club he represented, sipped tea and signed off with typical nonchalance. His decision had been widely expected since taking ownership.

The 2014 World Cup winner made 130 appearances and scored 49 goals for Germany, ranking third all time behind Miroslav Klose, 71, and Gerd Müller, 68.

A 1. FC Köln academy graduate, he debuted in 2003 and later joined Bayern, winning the double in 2008. Abroad he played for Arsenal, Inter Milan, Galatasaray, Vissel Kobe and Antalyaspor in Türkiye, before returning to Poland.

The Zabrze triumph also made him a champion in a fifth country, adding to honours with Bayern, Arsenal, Galatasaray and Vissel Kobe. This was set to be his last season given the demands on his family, and he has built businesses including a kebab chain and an ice-cream parlour.

Source: Goal.com