Bayern Munich defender Philipp Lahm has announced that he will retire as a player at the end of the current campaign despite his contract running until June 2018.
The 33-year-old has already found the back of the net twice and has assisted two goals from 22 appearances in all competitions this season.
The German defender has now revealed that he feels the timing is right to end his 18-year career with the defending Bundesliga champions.
‘I’m going to stop playing football at the end of the season,’ Lahm told the Bayern Munich website.
‘More than a year ago I started checking and questioning myself from day to day and week to week. I’m certain I’ll maintain peak form to the end of the season. I can manage that until the end of the campaign, but not beyond it.
‘There were talks, and in the end, I decided it’s not the right time for me to take up a new position at FC Bayern.’
The club has released the following statement:
‘FC Bayern München is surprised by the approach of Philipp Lahm and his adviser. Uli Hoeneß and I have held open, intensive and constructive talks with Philipp in recent months about a possible position as sporting director of our club.
‘At the end of last week, he informed us that he is currently not available for such a position and that he would like an early termination of his player contract, which runs until June 2018, at the end of the current season.
‘Until yesterday we assumed that there would be a joint announcement on this decision by Philipp Lahm and FC Bayern München.
‘Philipp Lahm has been an important player for FC Bayern München for over a decade. We are convinced that our captain will now concentrate fully with the team on the tough upcoming tasks in the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB Cup.
‘We would like to make clear that the door will always remain open for Philipp at FC Bayern München.’
Over the course of his career, Lahm has netted a total of 22 times and has assisted a further 76 goals from 636 appearances in all competitions playing for Bayern and Stuttgart.
