Defender Hummels leaves Borussia Dortmund

Central defender Mats Hummels will leave Borussia Dortmund immediately, the Bundesliga club said on Friday, ending a partnership that stretched back to 2008 with a three-year spell at Bayern Munich.

Hummels' departure comes a day after head coach Edin Terzic left the Champions League finalists.

"It was a huge honour and joy to have played for Dortmund for that long and to have followed the path almost entirely from 2008, with the club in 13th place at the time in January 2008, to what Borussia Dortmund is today."

The 35-year-old Hummels, who did not make the cut for Germany's Euro 2024 squad despite a strong season that saw Dortmund reach the Champions League final before losing to Real Madrid, had two spells with the Ruhr Valley outfit.

He had also played in their 2013 losing Champions League final to Bayern.

Hummels initially joined on loan from Bayern Munich in 2008 before signing a permanent deal and staying until 2016 when he switched back to Bayern.

After a three-year spell in Munich, he returned to Dortmund in 2019.

Hummels, a 2014 World Cup winner with Germany, won two league titles and two German Cups at Dortmund, including the 2012 domestic double, but had a strained relationship in recent months with Terzic.

"With Mats we are no doubt losing an outstanding personality, maybe the last of its kind in football," said Dortmund sports director Sebastian Kehl.

"During his career Mats did not only leave his mark on the club but also on the global game of central defenders, lifting it to a new level."