Former national soccer player Max Kruse has ended his career. The 35-year-old announced this decision in a video on Instagram.
The time has come to start a new phase of life, said Kruse. The offensive player last played for SC Paderborn and his contract with the second division club was terminated at the end of November. The 14-time German selection player repeatedly had injury problems in Paderborn and only played five games for East Westphalia. Upon request, his management confirmed the decision to end his career.
Kruse played over 350 first and second division games for Paderborn, VfL Wolfsburg, Union Berlin, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Werder Bremen, SC Freiburg and FC St. Pauli. He also played for Germany at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. During the games he proposed to his girlfriend in front of the cameras.
His former club Werder congratulated him “on an extraordinary career.” The former Bremen professional will remain with the fans on the Weser: “Appearances are already planned in the Werder traditional team,” wrote the club on X, formerly Twitter.
