Four German National Team Players Have Decided To Leave/Retire

𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐑𝐀!

Thomas Müller, Manuel Neuer, Ilkay Gündogan and Toni Kroos have all decided to leave German national team.

They made history for their country 🇩🇪

Thomas Müller

Thomas Müller is a German professional footballer who plays for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. He plays as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. Widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation, Müller has been praised for his positioning, finishing, stamina, and work-rate. 

He retired from international football after the UEFA Euro 2024. In 2020, Müller became the most decorated German footballer in history with 27 trophies.

Manuel Neuer

Manuel Peter Neuer (German pronunciation: born 27 March 1986) is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for and captains Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential goalkeepers in the history of the sport, Neuer has been described as a "sweeper-keeper" because of his playing style and speed when rushing off his line to anticipate opponents, going out of the penalty area. He was named the best goalkeeper of the decade from 2011 to 2020 by IFFHS.

Neuer started his career at Schalke 04 where he won the DFB-Pokal and DFL-Ligapokal, and was appointed club captain in 2010. In 2011, he signed for Bayern Munich and has since won 28 trophies, including eleven Bundesliga titles and two UEFA Champions League titles in 2013 and 2020, both as part of trebles, being the only goalkeeper in history to achieve the European treble twice, additionally winning the second as club captain. In 2014, Neuer finished third in the voting for the FIFA Ballon d'Or award behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He was awarded the Best European Goalkeeper a record five times, and the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper a joint-record five times, alongside Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas. He was also named the Best FIFA Goalkeeper in 2020.

Ilkay Gündogan

İlkay Gündoğan (Turkish: [ilˈkaj ˈɟyndoan]; born 24 October 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City.

A youth academy graduate of VfL Bochum, Gündoğan joined 1. FC Nürnberg in 2009. In 2011, he signed for Borussia Dortmund, where he went on to make over 150 appearances, winning a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in his debut season and scoring in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final they lost to Bayern Munich. Gündoğan signed for Manchester City in 2016, where he would go on to make over 300 appearances and win five Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, two FA Cups, and the Champions League. Appointed club captain in 2022, he led the team to a continental treble in the 2022–23 season, before departing the club. After a season in Spain with Barcelona, he rejoined Manchester City in 2024.

Gündoğan made his debut for the Germany national team in 2011, after previously being capped by the under-18, under-19, under-20, and under-21 teams. He was in Germany's squads for the UEFA European Championship in 2012, 2020, and 2024 (for which he was captain), and the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022.

Toni Kroos

Toni Kroos (born 4 January 1990) is a German former professional footballer. Regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, he was known for his vision, passing, crossing and set-piece ability. Kroos played mainly as a central midfielder, but was also deployed as a defensive and, on occasions, attacking midfielder throughout his career. With 34 trophies won throughout a career spanning 17 years, Kroos is the most decorated German football player.

Kroos began his senior club career at Bayern Munich, where he debuted at age 17 in 2007. He was used sparingly and opted for an 18-month loan spell at fellow Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, where he became a key contributor. He returned to his parent club with an increased profile in 2010. With Bayern, Kroos won two consecutive league titles (three titles in total), a UEFA Champions League, two DFB-Pokal trophies, and was voted into the league team of the season three times. In 2014, he joined Real Madrid in a transfer worth €25 million.

In Madrid, Kroos earned twenty-one trophies, including four La Liga titles and five UEFA Champions League trophies, three of which he won consecutively from 2016 to 2018, each time being selected in the competition's team of the season. He was selected in the FIFA FIFPRO World 11 and UEFA Team of the Year three times each, and the league's team of the season twice. He was voted the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker in 2014 and German Footballer of the Year in 2018 and 2024.