Dortmund defender Suele to retire at end of season

Borussia Dortmund defender Niklas Suele will retire at the end of the season, ​the 30-year-old said on Thursday.

Suele, capped 49 ‌times by Germany, began his career at TSG Hoffenheim before joining Bayern Munich in 2017, where he ​won five league titles as well ​as the Champions League in 2020. He ⁠moved to Dortmund in 2022.

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."

Dortmund, second in the standings, host Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday ⁠before ​finishing their league campaign ​with a trip to Werder Bremen on 16 May.