(Reuters) – Former Poland captain and Borussia Dortmund winger Jakub Blaszczykowski said on Thursday he had decided to end his playing career.
The 37-year-old, his country’s second-highest capped player (109) behind Robert Lewandowski (142), made his national team debut in March 2006 in a friendly win over Saudi Arabia.
He retired from international football in June in a friendly against Germany, leaving the pitch to a guard of honour from both teams.
“Every road has an end… Thank you so much for the great support I received every step of the way. It was worth playing, sacrificing myself for you,” Blaszczykowski said on Instagram.
He hangs up his boots after a second spell at Polish second-tier side Wisla Krakow, where he first played from 2004-2007 and won the Polish top flight in 2005 before joining Dortmund.
He made nearly 200 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund from 2007-2016, helping them win two league titles, one German Cup and three Super Cups as well as finishing runners-up in the 2012-13 Champions League.
His stay in Dortmund ended with a one-year loan spell at Serie A side Fiorentina after which Blaszczykowski returned to Germany in August 2016 on a three-year deal at VfL Wolfsburg.
Blaszczykowski will be given a farewell on Aug. 5 during Wisla’s first home game of the 2023-24 season, the club said.
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; Editing by Ken Ferris)
