The veteran German defender, Mats Hummels, who won the 2014 World Cup with Germany, is set to drop the curtains and retire at the end of the season.
Hummels announced on social media on Friday in an emotional video posted to Instagram, the 36-year-old referenced “a moment no footballer can avoid,” adding “after more than 18 years of everything football has given me, I’m ending my career this summer”.
The defender developed through Bayern Munich academy and made his debut for the club at 18, he moved to Borussia Dortmund where he became an important part of Jurgen Klopp’s two-time title winners.
Hummels played every minutes of the 2014 World Cup final alongside fellow centre back Jerome Boateng where Germany beat Argentina 1-0 at Maracana stadium in Brazil to lift the title for the fourth time in the country history
He later moved back to Bayern and won three more league titles. Hummels’ return to Bayern was seen by some Dortmund fans as a pursuit of a Champions League title but the defender never managed to break through in Europe’s top competition.
Hummels returned to Dortmund in 2019 for the second time, a year before Bayern beat Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final to lift their sixth crown.
The defender played twice in the Champions League final, one in 2013 and the other in 2024, both times in a losing effort with Dortmund and both times at Wembley in England.
Hummels appeared 78 time for Germany, played 508 matches for Dortmund and a further 118 for Bayern. He later moved to Italy with Serie A side Roma in 2024 and is on course to retire having played one season for the club.
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann praised Hummels described him “a benchmark at the international level and a role model for a generation of defenders”.
