Former Champions League winner, 30, signs for non-league club with average attendance of 60

NIKLAS SULE has completed a move to a non-league side despite winning the Champions League just six years ago. The German defender had retired from football in May after suffering a shock injury scare. Niklas Sule has joined a non-league club in Germany Credit: AP He won the Champions League with Bayern Munich in 2020 Credit: Alamy Sule, 30, hung up his boots after a knee injury convinced him he had suffered a third cruciate ligament tear. Fortunately, the knock was not as serious as first thought but it did lead to him to call time on his professional career. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! He had endured an injury-hit final season at Borussia Dortmund in which he featured in just 11 Bundesliga games. Sule first suffered a cruciate ligament tear during his time at Hoffenheim in 2014 before it happened again at Bayern Munich in 2019. The 49-time capped German international has now picked his boots back up and signed for non-league side SV Tiefenbach. He has swapped the 81,365-capacity Signal Iduna Park for the club who boast just 60 fans on average. Sule will officially join up with the club in August and it is expected that his arrival will boost the club’s profile. Club chairman Jürgen Bloch said: “It’s unbelievable, phenomenal. There are no words for what’s happened. Most read in Sport SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET UP TO £100 BONUS Sule had retired from football in May Credit: Getty “Look at us. We’re a small, down-to-earth club, and now a world star is coming here. “There’s nothing more to it than that. For us, it’s absolutely crazy.” During the announcement, a goosebump-covered Bloch admitted that his heart was “racing”. Sule will have to adapt to the club’s fine system, which will likely be very different to anything he had experienced before. Drinking alcohol or smoking DURING a match will cost him €15 (£12.82), and every picture in the press will cost €2 (£1.71). He could also get a slap on the wrist or be made to buy a case of beer or do push-ups in front of the team for other infractions. These include doing things such as breaking a beer bottle or being caught urinating in the shower. Sule has been close friends with Tiefenbach head coach Jason Walzel for many years. Niklas Sule's career by numbers HERE is a look at Niklas Sule's career in Germany which saw him win the Champions League and multiple domestic titles. The defender has stunned the world after coming out of a short retirement to join a team in the non-league football system in Germany. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (2013–2017) Appearances: 117 Goals: 8 Assists: 4 Bayern Munich (2017–2022) Appearances: 171 Goals: 7 Assists: 5 Borussia Dortmund (2022–2026) Appearances: 110 Goals: 3 Assists: 5 SV Tiefenbach (2026-present) Appearances: 0 They were on holiday in Ireland together in June when the topic of football came up and Walzel asked the question if Sule would be interested in joining him. He said: “We asked him if he’d like to join us on the pitch again. “We’re very pleased that he chose us.” Tiefenhach play in the amateur German football league called the Kreisliga, which is below state and district levels. Sule made his professional debut at Hoffenheim before making the switch to Bayern in 2017. The defender helped the club to the Champions League title three years later, playing in the final 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain. He left Bayern in 2022 and joined Bundesliga rivals Dortmund as part of the club’s recruitment to replace Erling Haaland. Comment now