Niklas Süle

Niklas Süle has been with Borussia Dortmund since 2022. “There’s no more emotion-packed stadium in the world! And the fact that I am playing for BVB now means a lot to me,” he told the BORUSSIA members’ magazine (July 2022 issue) after signing for the club. The German international can play on the right of the central defence in a back-four, on the right in a back-three or as a right-back.

Süle won an impressive 62 percent of his duels last season – after several injury-enforced lay-offs, his old strength in the duel returned as he began to get regular minutes under his belt in competitive matches. He is heavily involved in the build-up, has pronounced qualities in the passing game and is technically gifted. In 2024/25, he was on the ball 89 times per 90 minutes. Despite his towering height of 195 cm, he is also exceptionally fast (top speed: 34.6 km/h).

Niklas Süle was born in Frankfurt am Main, and grew up a little further south in Mörfelden-Walldorf. At the age of just eleven, he joined Eintracht Frankfurt (2006 to 2009), then to SV Darmstadt 98, where he only stayed for six months before moving to boarding school at TSG Hoffenheim at the beginning of 2010. “That was a very big step! As a youngster, you’re already training like a professional and have to manage school at the same time,” he told the BORUSSIA members' magazine. On Matchday 33, of the 2012/13 season, he made his Bundesliga debut. For the 2017/18 season, Süle signed a five-year contract with Bayern Munich. He won the German Championship five times (from 2018 to 2022), the DFBPokal twice (2019 and 2020), and also lifted the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup (both in 2020). In October 2019, he suffered a second tear of his cruciate ligament and was out until August 2020.

From the U16s onwards, Niklas Süle played for all the youth national teams and won the silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games. At the Olympic football tournament from 3 to 20 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, he played all six matches. The team were beaten in the final against Brazil, losing 5-4 in the penalty shoot-out, but Süle did score his penalty. “The final in the sold-out Maracana was one of my coolest football experiences ever! We were there with a team that nobody thought we could beat, and yet we marched through to the final.” Eleven days later, on 31 August 2016, he made his debut for the senior national team under Joachim Löw.