After retiring: BVB star Süle reveals his drastic weight tricks | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund will part ways with Niklas Süle after the season, as he is set to retire from football. The BVB star is now speaking openly about his extreme weight-cutting tricks, mental struggles, and the darker sides of his career.

Niklas Süle has spoken more openly than ever about the darker sides of his career. On the podcast Spielmacher, the center-back not only announced his retirement after the current season, but also gave honest insights into his years-long battle with his weight — and the sometimes drastic methods he used to trick the scales.

The issue was reportedly a recurring one, especially during his time at Bayern Munich. Under legendary coach Jupp Heynckes, players had to weigh in regularly. Süle has now revealed how far he went: “I wouldn’t eat anything all Wednesday, I’d always fast. And in the evening, I’d still go into the sauna at home — wearing a rain jacket.” The result: “The next morning I was two and a half kilos lighter, and the other six days I lived like a … I don’t even want to say it.”

The routine apparently pushed the current BVB professional to his limits. “After a day without food and sitting in the sauna with a rain jacket on, I had to walk up three flights of stairs to our bedroom. I threw the window open, leaned out, and had to breathe for ten minutes because I thought I was about to pass out,” Süle said.

BVB star Niklas Süle opens up about his time at Bayern

In the end, he said, the whole thing was pure deception. After a strong game, Heynckes had said to him: “See, now you played much better.” Süle dryly responded: “But I had exactly the same weight.” Süle also spoke particularly openly about his unusual physical attributes. “The fact that I was almost 110 kilos and still ran 35 km/h — that was my good fortune,” he said self-critically. A lot of it, he admitted, he had “managed through my talent.”

Photo: IMAGO

Even though the 30-year-old still believes he could basically continue playing at a high level, the mental strain in particular has recently become greater. “Mentally, it gets harder — you really have to say that,” Süle explained. When his career ends after the season, one feeling outweighs all others for him: gratitude. “You can’t feel more gratitude than for what I’ve been able to experience in my career.”

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