Hoffenheim have announced that Sebastian Rudy will leave the club at the end of his contract, which expires at the end of June.
On why he will end his 11-year total cooperation with Hoffenheim, Rudy said: “I owe a lot to TSG and spent most of my career in Hoffenheim. I have become a German national player here and have experienced many ups and downs with the club” The 33-year-old also reflects on his time at Hoffenheim: “For me, the beautiful moments predominate, such as the successful relegation against the 1. FC Kaiserslautern, the fourth place in the Bundesliga in the 2016/2017 season or the appearances with the TSG in the Europa League. I have now reached a phase of my career in which I would like to think carefully about how it could continue in terms of football for me. Maybe there will be another step. In any case, I still feel like kicking and am open to new things. But no matter what may come: I will always carry the TSG with its fans and the entire region in my heart.”
Rudy is the record appearance holder at Hoffenheim for outfield players with 327, three behind record holder Oliver Baumann. The 33-year-old has played for Hoffenheim over three different spells, having first joined the club from VfB Stuttgart in 2010. After joining Bayern Munich in 2017, Rudy would return to Hoffenheim on loan from Schalke in 2019. He would spend two years on loan at Hoffenheim before rejoining the club permanently in 2021.
This season, Rudy has played 23 times for Hoffenheim as they finished 12th in the Bundesliga and flirted with relegation for the majority of the season.
The midfielder has also previously earned call-ups to the German national team, making his debut in 2014. Rudy would go on to win the Confederations Cup in 2017, starting every game.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
