Schürrle on retirement: Doubts began before Dortmund move | OneFootball

World champion André Schürrle currently speaks about his early retirement, which he announced at just 29 years old. At that time, he was under contract with Borussia Dortmund but was loaned to Spartak Moscow. However, his first doubts about whether professional football was still the right career for him had already arisen before his move to BVB in 2016.

Recently, André Schürrle, who played 57 times for the German national team, was a guest on Robin Gosens' podcast "Wie geht’s?" Sport.de quotes from it right at the beginning that Schürrle had first considered possibly quitting football during his time at Bayer Leverkusen (2011 – 2013).

Time and again, he noticed back then and even more clearly later on, "that I don't fit 100 percent into this whole football world as it is," explains the native of Ludwigshafen. When these doubts first arose, he resolved: "If I ever sit there during a break and feel no tingling, no motivation to work again, to touch the ball again, when that moment comes, then it's time to think about quitting."

Apparently, these thoughts were not so intense or dominant for a longer period that he would have quit. He moved from Bayer Leverkusen to FC Chelsea for two years, then for one season to VfL Wolfsburg, before switching to BVB. And in the midst of it all, the left winger also became a world champion with the German national team.

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Schürrle sought new challenges

When, as an established national player, he did not make the impact at BVB as hoped from all sides, the two loan deals that followed likely contributed to solidifying his desire to leave. He spent one season at FC Fulham. From summer 2019, his club was Spartak Moscow.

Being "externally controlled" almost all the time as a professional no longer appealed to André Schürrle. It no longer felt like he was living his own life. Ending his career so early, as he did in 2020, still required a lot of courage. However, he notes, "probably for the first time, I made a decision that was absolutely mine."

Since then, Schürrle has been active in extreme sports, among other things, because he loves challenges, both mentally and physically. Continuing to play professional football was no longer such a challenge for him. During his four-year stint at BVB, Schürrle made only 33 appearances in the Bundesliga. On July 17, 2020, his contract with Borussia Dortmund was mutually terminated. Thus, he indeed ended his career at the age of just 29.

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