Mats Hummels
Mats Julian Hummels is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Known for his well-timed tackles, accurate long passes from the back, aerial ability and strength, he is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation.
Hummels came through the Bayern Munich youth academy before joining Borussia Dortmund on loan in January 2008, and officially signing for Dortmund in February 2009 for €4 million. He rejoined Bayern in 2016 for an undisclosed fee, and was sold back to Dortmund three years later, having won the Bundesliga in all his seasons in Munich. Hummels made over 500 total appearances for Dortmund, winning the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal twice, as well as finishing runner-up in the UEFA Champions League in 2013 and 2024. After a season in Italy with Roma, Hummels announced his retirement from the sport in 2025.
Hummels was part of the Germany national team from 2010 to 2023, earning over 70 caps. He represented the nation at the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2018, winning the former edition, and at the UEFA European Championship in 2012, 2016 and 2020.
Club career
Bayern Munich: Youth, and 2006–2008
Hummels is a product of Bayern Munich's youth academy, first entering the club as a six-year-old. He signed his first professional contract on 19 December 2006, until 2010. On 19 May 2007, in the season's final match, he played his first Bundesliga match with the first team in a 5–2 home routing of 1. FSV Mainz 05. He also played for the reserve team.Borussia Dortmund: 2008–2016
In January 2008, Hummels joined Borussia Dortmund, initially on loan. He finished the 2007–08 season with 16 matches played. During his first full season, he quickly established himself as first-choice, as he often partnered newly signed Neven Subotić, but also missed a great part of its final months due to injury. By the end of the 2007–08 season he would lose his first final with Dortmund in a 1–2 loss against his lender club Bayern Munich in the DFB-Pokal final. In February 2009, he was fully signed to the club for a fee of €4 million. In the summer of 2008, he would win his first trophy with Borussia Dortmund in a German supercup match between Dortmund and Bayern Munich, which Dortmund won by 2–1.The 2010–11 season brought increased success for Hummels. He was the regular first-choice centre-back, again paired with Subotić. The duo helped Dortmund to the best defensive record in the Bundesliga, as the team won the league title. Hummels' performances that season displayed great quality in tackling, positioning, passing and composure.
In the 2011–12 season Hummels lost the DFL-Supercup against rivals FC Schalke 04 after penalties.
Nonetheless, Hummels won the Bundesliga for a second time in 2011–12 as Dortmund set a Bundesliga record with the most points in a Bundesliga season with 81 points. Hummels scored a goal in Dortmund's 5–2 win against Bayern in the 2012 DFB-Pokal Final as the team completed the league and cup double. On 3 June 2012, Hummels signed a new contract to remain at Dortmund. In that season he would score his first goal in the UEFA Champions League, a penalty against Olympique Marseille in a group stage match to make it 2–0.
In 2012, he would lose the DFL-Supercup final once more with 2–1 against Bayern Munich.
Hummels scored his second Champions League goal in the first leg of the round of 16 in the 2012–13 edition of the competition, equalizing late by header against Shakhtar Donetsk.
On 25 May 2013, Hummels was in the Borussia Dortmund line-up that was defeated 2–1 by Bayern Munich last-minute at Wembley Stadium, London, in the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final.
On 27 July 2013, Hummels was in the Borussia Dortmund line-up that won 4–2 against Bayern Munich to win his first official DFL-Supercup. A year later, on 13 August 2014 he went on to win his second DFL-Supercup in a 2–0 victory over Bayern Munich after losing the DFB-Pokal final with 2–0 against Bayern Munich three months prior.
By the end of the season Hummels reached the 2015 DFB-Pokal final after a win against Bayern Munich by penalties in the semifinal. Borussia Dortmund would go on to lose the final 1–3 against Bundesliga runners-up VfL Wolfsburg.
Hummels finished his Borussia Dortmund season with two goals in 32 matches played in the 2014–15 season and three goals in 50 matches played during the 2015–16 season.
With Borussia Dortmund he would reach the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals that season - almost reaching the semis after a last-minute 3–4 defeat at Anfield road after leading the second leg match twice by two goals.
He played for Dortmund in the 2016 DFB-Pokal final against Bayern Munich shortly after having confirmed that he would join Bayern for the following season. After the game, which Dortmund lost on penalties, coach Thomas Tuchel publicly criticised the player. Hummels had asked to be substituted during the game, due to a torn calf muscle.
Return to Bayern Munich
2016–17 season
On 10 May 2016, it was confirmed that Hummels would re-join Bayern Munich from 1 July, signing a five-year contract. The fee was undisclosed, with the BBC citing reports that it was £30 million. He made his debut for Bayern on 14 August 2016 in the DFL-Supercup against his old team Dortmund which his team won with 2–0. On 20 August, Hummels scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 victory over Carl Zeiss Jena during the first round of the DFB-Pokal. On 26 November, Hummels scored his first league goal for the club in a 2–1 win over Bayer Leverkusen. On 24 September, Hummels suffered a knee injury in his right knee just before half time and was subbed off in a 1–0 victory over Hamburger SV. He made his comeback as a substitute in the second half in a 1–0 defeat to Atlético Madrid on 29 September.On 9 April 2017, Hummels missed the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid after sustaining an ankle injury in training. He did not fully recover from the injury and had to play the second leg against Real Madrid as defender. Javi Martínez was shown a red card in the first leg and there was no more backup player in centre-back position; the match ended 4–2 defeat for his side as they got knocked out from the competition. On 26 April, Hummels scored a goal against his former club Borussia Dortmund in a 2–3 loss in the DFB-Pokal semi-final. Hummels would play alongside Germany teammate Jérôme Boateng throughout the season. Hummels finished the 2016–17 season with three goals in 42 matches played.
During this time, Hummels was a part of a collaboration between the German Football Association and The LEGO Group, who in May 2016 released a Europe-exclusive collectible minifigure series, with Hummels featured as the fourth of sixteen minifigures in the collection.
2017–18 season
On 5 August 2017, Hummels started the season in fashion by defeating Borussia Dortmund to win the DFL-Supercup in the penalty-shootout as the match ended 2–2 after extra time. He scored his first goal of the season in a 5–0 victory over Chemnitzer FC in the DFB-Pokal first-round on 12 August. On 1 October, Hummels scored a goal in a 2–2 draw over Hertha BSC. On 18 October, he scored his first Champions League goal for the club and his third goal in the competition in a 3–0 victory over Celtic. Hummels sustained an adductor injury at Bayern's training camp in Doha during the winter break which forced him to miss the league match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. On 2 February, Hummels played his first match of the year after recovering from the injury in a 2–0 victory over Mainz 05. On 31 March, he made his 50th league appearance for Bayern Munich in a 6–0 victory over Borussia Dortmund. On 28 April, Hummels captained his side for the first time in a 4–1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. Hummels finished the 2017–18 season with three goals in 41 matches played.2018–19 season
Hummels started the 2018–19 season by starting in the DFL-Supercup, which Bayern won 5–0 against Eintracht Frankfurt.Hummels had a difficult spell midway through the season as he lost his starting place for several matches to Niklas Süle. Hummels was criticized for his comments after the 3–2 loss against Dortmund on 10 November 2018. Hummels blamed his poor performance on him being sick. Hummels said he had blurred vision before the match but he still decided to play the match. Hummels had to be substituted in the second half because of his poor performance.
On 2 October 2018, he would score his second goal for Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League and his fourth goal in the entire competition, against Ajax Amsterdam with an early header in the group stage.
On 18 May 2019, Hummels won his fifth Bundesliga title as Bayern finished two points above Dortmund with 78 points. A week later, Hummels won his second DFB-Pokal as Bayern defeated RB Leipzig 3–0 in the 2019 DFB-Pokal Final.
Hummels finished the 2018–19 season with two goals in 33 matches played.
Return to Dortmund
On 19 June 2019, Bayern Munich came to an agreement with Borussia Dortmund that would see the 30-year-old Hummels rejoin his former club. His team would go on to win the 2019's edition of the DFL-Supercup by 2–0 against Bayern Munich – although he remained unused in that match. He clinched his first title following his return by achieving the 2020–21 DFB-Pokal after a 4–1 win over RB Leipzig in the final. On 19 February 2023, he featured in his 454th match in a 4–1 win over Hertha BSC, becoming the player with the second most appearances at the club ahead of Roman Weidenfeller, with only Michael Zorc with 572 games ahead of him. Later that year, on 24 May, he extended his contract with the club until 2024. Hummels would almost win his third German championship with Borussia Dortmund - and his sixth German championship in total, after merely drawing on the last matchday of the 2022–23 Bundesliga in a 2–2 against Mainz. Bayern Munich would win the league by goal-difference after a last-minute winner by Jamal Musiala against Köln.On 10 April 2024, Hummels played his 500th match for Borussia Dortmund in all competitions against Atlético Madrid during the Champions League quarter-finals. A week later he assisted Julian Brandt's goal in the second leg match against Atlético Madrid to tie the game on aggregate. A month later, on 7 May, he scored the only goal and his fifth Champions League goal of his career from a header in a 1–0 away victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final second leg, becoming the oldest German player, aged 35 years and 143 days, to score in the knockout stages of the competition, and securing his club's qualification to the final for the third time in their history. Hummels was given the man of the match award in both games against PSG. Afterwards, his club lost 2–0 against Real Madrid in the final, once again in Wembley. However, he became the second player to produce more than 50 tackles in a single campaign, following Lúcio in 2009–10. He won the man of the match award three times that season, after a 3–1 victory over Milan in the group stage as well as twice in the semis against PSG becoming the player with the most MOTM-awards in the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League campaign. He was eventually named in the Team of the Season in that competition often playing alongside fellow centre-backs Nico Schlotterbeck and former Bayern-teammate Niklas Süle throughout the campaign. A few weeks later, on 14 June, his departure from the club was announced.