Niklas Süle rented a house, hired a physiotherapist and a chef, and trained three times a day for four weeks on roughly 1,500 calories. By the end of it, the center-back weighed 11 kilograms less, and was just about ready to walk into Dortmund training.

It is the kind of pre-season not normally built by a player with a contract and a Bundesliga salary. Süle, speaking on the “After The Final Whistle” podcast as reported by Goal, called the stint a great but really tough period and said he was proud of himself at the end, because it was something he had worked toward for a long time.

“Three beers and McDonald’s too often”

Süle, now 31, told the podcast he had “three beers now and then and eaten at McDonald’s too often” during his career. He described himself as a player who loved football but never put everything into it every single day, and said the idea of living only for the sport for the next 15 years had not appealed to him.

The confession lands with a specific weight because Süle is not a journeyman explaining why things did not work out. He won titles at Bayern Munich, moved to Dortmund in 2022, and had a long run in the Germany squad. The private camp was an attempt to turn things around at Dortmund after persistent weight questions followed him across both clubs.

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A panic attack on the way to training

The physical regime is only one half of the story. Süle also described suffering a panic attack while driving to training in Dortmund, a moment in which he thought something was not right, according to Sky Sport Germany.

He said afterwards he genuinely began to question whether he still belonged in the industry. His mother, he recalled, had told him plainly that she did not think he was suited to the business.

Süle has previously pointed to knee trouble, including a scare over a possible third ACL injury, as the physical reason his professional career ended.

From Dortmund to the amateur pitches

After his Dortmund contract expired at the end of the 2025-26 season, Süle retired from professional football and in July signed for amateur side SV Tiefenbach, a Kreisliga club several tiers below the professional pyramid.

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Two of his closest friends play there, and one of them is on the coaching staff.

“I’m really looking forward to finally experiencing football from a completely different perspective, where it’s solely about the sport itself and not about business or money,” Süle said when the move was announced.

Tiefenbach training sessions do not require a private chef, a rented house or 1,500-calorie days. On the podcast, he described what he now wants from football in simple terms: to turn up, play, have three beers after the match with his friends and go home.

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