Borussia Dortmund defender Niklas Sule will retire at the end of the season.
The 30-year-old, who joined Dortmund from Bayern Munich in 2022, has endured a career plagued by injuries.
Sule has suffered two Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries, and he confirmed his fitness issues played a big part in his decision to call time on his playing days.
Indeed, a knee issue sustained last month led Sule to make the decision to step away.
Niklas Süle wird seine aktive Fußballkarriere nach dem letzten Spieltag der Saison 2025/26 beenden. Dies gab der 30-Jährige Verteidiger nun im Podcast "Spielmacher" bekannt.
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) May 7, 2026
Mehr dazu hier: https://t.co/LI353bTa6q pic.twitter.com/Rwf5EWQxW0
"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 1000% 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."
Sule last featured for Germany in 2023. During his time with Bayern, he won five Bundesliga titles, the Champions League once and enjoyed two successful DFB-Pokal campaigns.
Sule has missed 87 games during his time at Dortmund, featuring 108 times for BVB in all competitions.
Dortmund take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Friday. A win for Niko Kovac's team would be enough to see them secure second place.