Borussia Dortmund defender Niklas Sule to retire from football at end of season aged 30

Bayer LeverkusenBayern MunichBorussia DortmundEintracht FrankfurtRB LeipzigWolfsburgScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsBorussia Dortmund defender Niklas Sule to retire from football at end of season aged 30The centre-back has been heavily affected by injuries throughout his career, suffering two cruciate ligament tears. Alex Grimm/Getty Images Share articleBorussia Dortmund centre-back Niklas Sule has announced that he will retire from football at the end of the 2025-26 campaign at the age of 30. The former Germany and Bayern Munich defender said that injuries were the primary factor in his decision to step away from the sport. Sule has an extensive injury history which includes two anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears and 133 games missed in total for club and country in his 13 year-senior career, per Transfermarkt. Dortmund had already confirmed that Sule would be leaving the club following the expiration of his contract this summer. Sule sustained a knee injury against Hoffenheim on April 18, with concerns that he had suffered another ACL tear. Scans subsequently revealed that the issue was not as serious as initially feared, though Sule explained that the threat of another significant injury was enough to cause him to step away. “I would like to announce that I will be ending my career this summer,” he said on the Spielmacher podcast. “What I felt when our team doctor did the drawer test in the dressing room in Hoffenheim, looked at the physio and shook his head, and the physio did it too and didn’t feel any resistance either – I went into the shower and cried for ten minutes. In that moment, I really thought: ‘It’s torn’. “When I went for an MRI the next day and received the good news (that it wasn’t an ACL injury), it was one thousand per cent clear to me that it was over. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than looking forward to life – being independent, going on holiday, spending time with my children – only to then have to come to terms with my third cruciate ligament tear.” A product of Hoffenheim’s academy, Sule made his senior debut for the club in May 2013. He spent four more years with the team before joining Bayern in 2017. Sule won the Bundesliga title in each of his five seasons with the Bavarian club, making 171 appearances in all competitions in that time. He also won the Champions League in 2020 and the DFB-Pokal on two occasions (2019 and 2020). In 2022, Sule signed for Dortmund on a free transfer following the expiration of his Bayern contract. He has featured 109 times for the club and came close to winning the sixth league title of his career in the 2022-23 season, only for Dortmund to drop to second behind Bayern on the final day. He helped the club reach the final of the 2023-24 Champions League, where they were defeated 2-0 by Real Madrid. At international level, Sule was capped 49 times and represented Germany at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. His last national team appearance came in a friendly against Mexico in October 2023. Analysis by German football correspondent Sebastian Stafford-Bloor What a shame. At his very best, Sule was a rare defender, blessed with size, speed and skill. Fully fit and fully focused, he belonged at the very top of the sport, playing against the best attackers it had to offer. In another world, he would be key to Germany’s chances at this summer’s World Cup. In reality, he has had next to no chance of going for some time. Ultimately, his body has prevented him from achieving what he might have done. Sule has been incredibly unfortunate with injury. Typically, whenever his career seemed to be headed in the right direction, another setback would derail his progress. For a player who was dependent on his self-belief, those interruptions must have been incredibly difficult, becoming another challenge to overcome each time. He has been an easy target. In later years, he struggled with his weight and cruel social media jibes doubtless became as common as first team appearances. Sule was Dortmund’s highest earner, meaning that he often bore the brunt of fan frustration, particularly when he was unable to play or after making the kind of mistakes that his fragile self-confidence made inevitable. It’s telling that this feels like a relief. Sule is a tale of what could have been, but unfortunately this has seemed the likely end for some time. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms