Former German international Benedikt Höwedes has announced his retirement as a professional footballer in the German newspaper Der Spiegel. The 32-year-old defender indicated that “family reasons” were the deciding factor in his decision.
“During the last holiday, it gave me great joy to see my son grow up close. At the time, football is completely unimportant to me,” explained Höwedes, who ignored some of the offers from clubs.
Höwedes was captain of Schalke 04 for years, the club where he was under contract between 2001 and 2018. During his last season, the Königsblauen lent him to Juventus. The past two seasons, he played for Lokomotiv Moscow. A few weeks ago, his contract with the Russian club was prematurely terminated.
Höwedes experienced the peak of his career in the summer of 2014 in Brazil. The defender played in all seven games of the Mannschaft towards the world title as left back. Five years earlier, he also became European champion with the German promises.
