Defender Mats Hummels extends Borussia Dortmund stay
Borussia Dortmund's hugely experienced centre-back Mats Hummels will remain at the club until June 2024 after the Germany international agreed terms on a one-year contract extension with the Bundesliga giants.
The 34-year-old FIFA World Cup winner has racked up 468 appearances for this season's Bundesliga title frontrunners - including 37 in the current campaign - since making his debut in Black-and-Yellow in 2008. Twice a Bundesliga winner with BVB, in 2011 and 2012, Hummels has also lifted two DFB Cups with the league leaders.
"I'm very happy that Mats Hummels is staying at Borussia Dortmund for another year; BVB and Mats simply belong together," Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said after Hummels penned his new deal. "He identifies very much with our club," Watzke continued.
Sebastian Kehl concurred, BVB's sporting director adding, "It's very good that Mats, with his experience and his leadership strength, will still be available to our young team in the coming season. He is a very, very important player for this team because he gives them a lot [in terms of] leadership."
Hummels is currently in his second stint with Dortmund, having previously left to rejoin his boyhood club, Bayern Munich, where he won three German top-flight titles between 2016 and 2019. A veteran of 416 Bundesliga games, Hummels is just one away from adding a seventh Meisterschale to his trophy cabinet. Dortmund lead rivals Bayern by two points going into the weekend's final round of games.
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"Everyone knows how much fun I have playing at the Signal Iduna Park in front of our amazing fans," Hummels said after agreeing terms on his year-long extension. "I didn't take the decision lightly. It was a long deliberation process. Now, at the end of the season, I can say I'm really in the mood for another year," the defender added.
"From this point, the focus is on the game against Mainz on Saturday. We still have 90 intense minutes ahead of us. After that, we hope to celebrate something big together."
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