Mats Hummels retired this summer. As a TV analyst for Amazon, he revealed where he almost ended up after leaving BVB.
Mats Hummels can look back on a successful career in professional soccer. Before retiring this summer, the 36-year-old won numerous titles, including league championships, cup titles, and the World Cup. However, the Champions League title is missing from his collection. He came very close to winning it in 2024, when he lost the final against Real Madrid in his last game for Borussia Dortmund.
And apparently, even in the final year of his career, Hummels wasn’t too far off from winning what is arguably the most prestigious trophy in club soccer. The Champions League title in the 2024–25 season went to Paris Saint-Germain—the very club Hummels almost ended up at after his time with BVB came to an end.
The former world-class center back revealed this ahead of FC Bayern’s Champions League match against PSG this Wednesday. “Of course, I have to be careful now about what I say. Yes, but it’s true. In the summer of 2024, toward the end of the transfer window, there was interest from both sides—including me—I won’t beat around the bush,” Hummels said on Prime Video.
Hummels works as a TV analyst for the streaming service. He went on to tell reporter Cayana Freeman: “But it ultimately fell through because a certain player on the roster would have had to be replaced, and that didn’t happen. It almost happened anyway, but in the end, it didn’t. But maybe, if things had gone differently somehow, you might still see me out there on the field.”
Hummels may have piqued the French club’s interest during their matchup in the semifinals of the 2023–24 Champions League season. In the second leg, he scored the 1-0 winning goal and led BVB to the final. He then said goodbye to the Ruhr region. Hummels remained a free agent for some time before, after a brief flirtation with PSG, ultimately moving to AS Roma in Italy. He ended his career there that summer—while Paris won the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.