Germany defender and former Bayern Munich centre-back Niklas Suele has decided to retire from football at just 30 years of age, at the end of the season.
In an appearance on the Spielmacher podcast on Thursday, Suele said he made the decision to hang up his boots after injuring his knee during a match against Hoffenheim last month.
“When I went for an MRI the next day and received the good news (that it wasn’t a cruciate ligament tear after all), it was 1,000% clear to me that it was over,” Suele said.
“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.”
Suele played 49 times for Germany, winning the FIFA Confederations Cup with it in 2017.
At the club level, his he peaked at Bayern, winning five Bundesliga titles, and was part of the team that won the continental treble in 2020.
He moved to Dortmund in 2022.
Published on May 07, 2026
