„I believe we can be champions with BVB“ – Süle talks about his time at Bayern, his new club, and more.
After five very successful years at Bayern Munich, Niklas Süle is leaving the record champions in the summer and moving to title rivals Borussia Dortmund as a free agent.
The 26-year-old central defender has now commented for the first time on the move, his aspirations, and his time at Bayern Munich. In an interview with ‚SPORTBILD‘, the German international has also made it clear that they want to challenge Bayern for the Bundesliga title.
For starters, most recently, the defender was in the center of media’s attention following his absence from the squad against Wolfsburg. Although it was agreed beforehand with Julian Nagelsmann that Süle would not be part of his plans anymore, the coach called the defender back after Marcel Sabitzer got injured. The defender has now commented on the rumors
„Last Thursday, Julian Nagelsmann asked me if it would be okay if I wasn’t in the squad against Wolfsburg. He wanted to reward young players who are at Bayern next season and let them play. So there was no place for me in the squad. I accepted that because I understood the decision. So it was a decision of the coaching staff, who for understandable reasons didn’t want me in the squad. On Friday, when Marcel Sabitzer was injured, one of our assistant coaches said that I could come along if I wanted to. But that was also okay if I did not. That was the story.”
Niklas Süle played 170 games for Bayern since his arrival in 2017-18 season. The defender had to face a series of ups and downs in his career after being diagnosed with a long term injury on his knee that kept him out of action from October 2019 to August 2020. Nevertheless, Süle is proud to have achieved a lot with Bayern and points out that not many people at the club have supported him in his bad times. regrets the time when he could not help the team due to his injuries.
„I think I was able to show that with 14 titles I could play my part in FC Bayern’s successful history. When looking at the overall picture, we shouldn’t forget the difficult moments: I came on in the Champions League final against PSG in the 25th minute after a cruciate ligament tear. Hansi Flick placed his trust in me as a coach. […] I didn’t feel that trust at all levels in the club. I didn’t feel that from the club management. At that time, I just noticed that I lacked the appreciation and that I wanted to do something new.“
„What really hurt me was missing the crucial phase of the season due to a torn muscle and flue. I fought my way back into the team under Julian Nagelsmann, was an absolute regular player – and then I lost it. Nobody gives me back this time, which I really wanted to experience. Maybe I could have helped the team to do better than the quarter-finals in the Champions League. That kept me very busy for days.“
As a new player of Borussia Dortmund, Süle has to aspire for big goals and to achieve them he has to give his best. The German claims that they will do anything to dethrone Bayern from the first place.
„The moment I held the Bundesliga trophy in my hands, some of the players from behind called out: “Niki, this is your last one!” And I answered ‚We will see‘!“
„Bayern have done a great job over the last ten years and deserved to be champions. Now I’m going to a club that wants to do everything to ensure that Bayern don’t win the championship for the 11th time. When you sit there and talk with those at Dortmund, it excites you. At least that’s how I felt.“
„What BVB plans to do in the next four years – for which I signed – impressed me immediately. Dortmund wants to take the next step and that’s exactly what I want too. These are major goals, and I should be responsible for implementing them. This conversation was not about money for a second. I quickly realized what I wanted to do.“
