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The Bender twins from Bayer Leverkusen will say goodbye to professional football next year.
As the Bundesliga club announced on Monday, Lars and Sven Bender will not extend their contracts that expire in the summer.
“After a long period of reflection and countless mind games regarding our future, we finally came to the decision that we will not continue our journey with Bayer 04.
We felt it was our responsibility to inform the club about this decision at an early stage, ”said a joint statement by the two 31-year-olds.
“Ultimately, it wasn't a decision against the association, but for health and the family.
We realized that it would be difficult to play football at this high level beyond the summer.
Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to keep track of this with all the pain and physical problems we are suffering from more and more, ”they explained.
"Proud to be part of Bayer 04's history"
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Lars Bender has played in Leverkusen since 2009 and has been the team's captain since 2015.
Sven Bender came from Borussia Dortmund in 2017.
Bayer's managing director, Rudi Völler, spoke of an “exceptional life performance in sport”.
Both played for the German national team, Lars made 19 international matches, Sven made seven appearances.
“There are only a few players like Lars and Sven in the Bundesliga.
They stand for football class, extreme professionalism and absolute reliability, for willpower and willingness to work, ”said Völler.
In addition, in all these years he has not seen a player who has identified himself so with Bayer 04.
“We are very grateful to Lars”.
Lars Bender said: "I'm proud to be part of Bayer 04 history."