Zule ends his career at the age of 31

German footballer Niklas Sule has announced that he will end his playing career after the end of this season.

Borussia Dortmund, for whom Zule currently plays, stated that the 30-year-old German defender had been considering ending his career for some time and that he made the final decision after suffering a knee injury in a match against Hoffenheim on April 18.

"What I felt when our doctor did the test (to detect a possible torn cruciate ligament) in the Hoffenheim locker room, looked at the physiotherapist and shook his head, and the physiotherapist did it too and didn't feel anything, was when I got into the shower and cried for 10 minutes. At that moment I really thought: 'It's torn,'" said Sule, as reported by the Borussia Dortmund website.

"When I went for an MRI the next day and got the good news that it wasn't a torn cruciate ligament, it was crystal clear to me that it was over. I couldn't imagine anything worse than actually looking forward to the time ahead - to be independent, to go on vacation, to spend time with my children, and then having to treat my third torn cruciate ligament," Zule added.

Sule joined Borussia Dortmund in 2022 from Bayern Munich, and also played for Hoffenheim during his career.

The German defender had the most successful period of his career with Bayern, with whom he won a total of 14 trophies - five in the Bundesliga, four in the German Super Cup, two in the German Cup, and one each in the Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup.

As a Bayern player, he was selected to the Bundesliga's ideal team in the 2016/17 and 2021/22 seasons, while he made a total of 49 appearances for the German national team.