Mats Hummels has revealed that he will leave Borussia Dortmund this summer following 13 years at the club.
Hummels Departs Dortmund Following Legendary Spell
German Defender Closes Dortmund Chapter of His Career
The news that Hummels described as an “outstanding defender” would be bringing to an end his time as a Borussia Dortmund player came on the afternoon of June 14 from Dortmund’s ‘X’ account, with the 35-year set to become a free agent this summer.
Hummels, who started his career at rivals Bayern Munich, joined the Black and Yellows in January 2008 on loan, making 16 appearances that season as Dortmund finished 13th. 13 months later, in February 2009, Dortmund signed him permanently, the central defender making 293 appearances over the next seven years before he made a return to Bayern, with whom he stayed until 2019.
That summer, he returned to Dortmund at the age of 30, going on to play 199 more times for the club. Despite not winning any titles during his second spell at the Westfalenstadion, he can be proud of his achievements, most notably playing a huge part in Dortmund’s magical run to the Champions League final just gone, where they were sadly beaten by Real Madrid.
A Sour End to a Memorable Era
The loss to Real at Wembley on June 1 will no doubt leave Hummels wishing things had turned out differently, the defeat meaning the German ends his time at Dortmund with two Champions League runners-up medals, his first coming in 2013 – also at Wembley – when they lost 2-1 to Bayern, conceding an 89th-minute winner from Arjen Robben.
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However, his fall-out with manager Edin Terzic, who himself announced his decision to leave the club on June 13, was also not the way he would have wanted things to come to a close in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Hummels, per The Telegraph, is said to have had a “violent confrontation” with his boss ahead of the showdown with Real, criticising some of the “submissive” tactics used by the German-Croatian coach at points earlier in the season.
Dortmund’s performance in the Wembley final against Carlo Ancelotti’s side certainly didn’t suggest any sort of tension between the pair, but with the aforementioned confrontation said to be the reason for Terzic’s exit, Hummels may feel he could have handled things differently now the dust has settled and he and his former boss have gone their separate ways.
The Good Times
Away from the regrettable moments, Hummels will be forever indebted to Dortmund, the club giving him the platform to become the defender he is known as today. His senior international debut came on May 13 2010, after a Bundesliga season which saw him making 30 appearances at the heart of his side’s defence. Four years later, he was a central part of Germany’s run to World Cup glory in Brazil, playing every minute of the final as Die Mannschaft beat Argentina 1-0 in Rio.
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Adding his national team achievements to his two Bundesliga titles, two DfB Pokals, a German Supercup and his 509 appearances for Dortmund, Hummels will go down in history as one of his nation’s finest-ever defenders.
