Andre Schürrle announces his retirement after Borussia Dortmund exit

Andre Schürrle has made the decision to end his playing career just days after the mutual termination of his contract with Borussia Dortmund.

Andre Schürrle announced his shock decision to retire at the age of just 29 in an interview with Der Spiegel. The former Borussia Dortmund forward revealed that despite all the money he made in football, he often felt lonely, especially when the “depths became deeper and deeper, and the highs less and less”.

"Schürrle said, “The decision has matured in me for a long time. I don’t need any more applause. You always have to play a certain role in order to survive in the business, otherwise you will lose your job and you’ll not get a new one either.”"

Schürrle joined Borussia Dortmund for a then club record fee of 30 million euros from Wolfsburg in 2016. He struggled to live up to the high expectations, as injuries and poor form thwarted his progress with the Black and Yellows. In 51 appearances for Dortmund, Schürrle only managed to get eight goals and ten assists.

Following the arrival of Lucien Favre in 2018, the former Germany international was told that he was surplus to requirements. He then went on to join Premier League side Fulham on a season long loan deal. But the London based side did not make his move permanent after they suffered relegation.

Schürrle then joined Russian side Spartak Moscow on a season long loan deal. But he once again returned to Borussia Dortmund after they decided against signing him permanently.

Earlier this week, Borussia Dortmund announced that they had agreed to a mutual termination of Schürrle’s contract, one year before it was due to expire. The 29 year old reportedly earned a severance fee of 2.5 million euros.

Schürrle, whose playing career also saw him play for Mainz, Bayer Leverkusen, Chelsea and Wolfsburg, assisted Mario Götze’s winner in the 2014 World Cup final for Germany. Unfortunately, things simply did not work out for him at Borussia Dortmund.