Retirement confirmed: Niklas Süle calls it a day | OneFootball

With Joane Gadou from Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund reportedly already have a new centre-back firmly on the hook. The 19-year-old, for whom a fee in the region of €20 million is being discussed, is expected to fill Niklas Süle’s spot in the BVB squad, as his expiring contract will not be renewed – and he has now announced the end of his career.

On the podcast SPIELMACHER – Football from Every Angle with 360 Media, Süle announced that he will hang up his boots at the end of the 2025/26 season. “I want to announce that I will end my career in the summer,” said the 30-year-old, who has one major concern in this context: “First and foremost, I want my children to understand, to some extent, why their dad is ending what he actually loved at the age of 30, even though he still could have carried on playing.”

Süle made the final decision after matchday 30, when, following his injury-related substitution, a third cruciate ligament tear of his career was suspected: “What I felt when our doctor did the drawer test in the dressing room in Hoffenheim, looked at the physio and shook his head, and the physio did the same and also couldn’t feel any endpoint — I went into the shower and cried for ten minutes.”

The next day brought the all-clear, but this latest health setback, even if it was not a serious one, still played a key role in his decision to call it a day: “When I went for the MRI the next day and got the good news, I was one thousand percent sure that it was over. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than actually looking forward to what comes next — being independent, going on holiday, spending time with my children — and then having to deal with my third cruciate ligament tear.”

Positive feelings toward BVB

Although he has not always been viewed uncritically in Dortmund, Süle feels no negativity at all toward the final stop of his professional career: “When I look back on the four years in Dortmund, there were many moments that I enjoyed. The dressing-room banter, the stadium — we’re talking about 80,000 people. The fans always welcomed me openly. I’m really going to miss that time. How comfortable I felt here. I noticed on the first day what people in Dortmund are like: open, warm, honest. I felt incredibly connected to that. My children go to nursery here. It’s really hard for us to leave.”

Photo: IMAGO

As for saying goodbye, Süle would ideally like to do so on the pitch on Friday evening in the home game against Eintracht Frankfurt: “In the absolute best-case scenario, I’ll get another ten seconds or a minute, or five if Niko Kovac wants — I can manage that. The main thing is that I get on, make my 300th Bundesliga appearance in front of 80,000 spectators, in front of my loved ones.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.