BERLIN: 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.

Only hours later, Dort­mund announced assistant coach Nuri Sahin as their new head coach, replacing Edin Terzic who left the Champions Lea­gue finalists on Thursday.

Sahin, a German-born former Turkey international, played 274 matches for Dortmund and won the league and German Cup.

He became an assistant coach at Dortmund in 2024 after a two-year coaching spell at Turkey’s Antalyaspor. He signed a contract to 2027.

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.

“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.” 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 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.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2024