A Champions League finalist just two years ago, Niklas Sule will be playing in the eighth tear of German football next season.
The 49-time Germany international retired from football just two months ago after being released by Borussia Dortmund.
However, he’s now ended that hiatus to sign up with SV Tiefenbach in Germany’s eighth tier Kreisliga.
He told Sky Germany: “I’m really looking forward to finally experiencing football from a completely different perspective – where it’s solely about the sport itself and not about business or money.
“What’s more, two of my best friends play for SV Tiefenbach, one of whom is even a coach there.
“After 13 years as a professional footballer, it’s an absolute gift for me to be able to stand on the pitch with my buddies and fully enjoy the joy of this wonderful sport once again.”
Sule’s short retirement
Sule left Dortmund and retired in May, admitting he’d let himself go.
The club said in a statement: “After four years in black and yellow, Niklas Süle’s time with Borussia Dortmund will come to an end this summer.
“BVB and Süle have mutually agreed to this.”
CEO Lars Ricken added: “We had very open and respectful discussions with both of them this week.
“In the end, we agreed with both Niklas and Salih to go our separate ways at the end of the season.”
Sule signed from Bayern Munich in 2022 as a five-time Bundesliga winner and Champions League winner, joining as their highest-paid player.
Sule explained how his health deteriorated before his retirement.
Sule’s struggles with weight
“That was probably the most intense summer of my life,” he reflected after pictures of him overweight went viral in 2024.
“But it was also urgently needed after a year that I personally couldn’t be satisfied with at all, in which I fell far short of my expectations.”
Asked about losing his place for club and country, he said: “All things for which I take the blame entirely on myself. I didn’t deserve to be nominated for the European Championships by Julian Nagelsmann. The decision is completely understandable and there is nothing wrong with it.”
Speaking specifically about the struggles he went through, he continued: Süle: “Mentally, I just couldn’t manage to do the right things. I couldn’t motivate myself anymore. I wanted to, but I couldn’t.
“Luckily, I was doing really well in my private life. Everything was and is fine. I had lots of important conversations and got help.
“I put together a team with my advisor and my family with people who are absolutely top in their field. We checked exactly who I needed around me. Without these three or four people, my inner circle, I probably wouldn’t have made it.
“I’ve been working with a mental coach for a long time who is fantastic. His input was worth its weight in gold. But the chefs who have accompanied me over the last few weeks are also top-class.
“I went into this summer break with the aim of creating something like a Niklas Süle 2.0. Now I’m in a mental state that I haven’t been in for a long time. I’m mentally and physically in a state where I can really attack again.
“It was very hard. Not a single day felt like a holiday, but when I see how I’m doing now, it makes me happy and proud.
“Football is so much in your head, you need enormous mental strength. It may have taken me a while to realize this, but now I’m glad I took this path. I’m very happy with the way things are right now.”
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