Germany and Bayern Munich legend Philipp Lahm will retire at the end of the season
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Germany and Bayern Munich legend Philipp Lahm has said he will retire at the end of the season.
The 33-year-old made the shock announcement after his 501st game for the club – a German cup win over Wolfsburg.
He admitted he would not be able to keep delivering top quality performances after the end of this campaign.
He said: “Like I explained already several times, the reason is that I give everything I have every day in each training and game and I think I can keep up with that until the end of the season, but no longer.”
Lahm captained Germany to victory in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and has had a glittering club career, winning seven Bundesliga titles, six German Cups and the Champions League.
The defender will not be taking a sporting director role at Bayern, as had been expected, but said he expects to return to the club at some point in the future.
Thank you very much for all your messages. A day later, I’d like to explain my decision to you in detail: pic.twitter.com/Xz213rxM73
— Philipp Lahm (@philipplahm) 8 février 2017