Will Borussia Dortmund sign Mats Hummels for Club World Cup? | OneFootball

Sport Bild reports that German footballing legend Mats Hummels might rejoin Borussia Dortmund on a short-term basis this summer. The 36-year-old could receive a contract from his long-time Bundesliga outfit to play in the coming Club World Cup in June and July. Hummels departed Dortmund on a free last summer, moving aboard for the first time in his long and storied career to play for AS Roma.

Dortmund – along with fellow Bundesliga representatives FC Bayern Munich – must plan differently for the novel cup competition in the USA. Loan players must be recalled ahead of the June 30th loan terminus in their contracts. Players sitting on expiring deals must similarly be signed to mini-extensions ahead of the June 30th expiry. Hummels could sign a two-month BVB contract.

Hummels signed a one-year deal with Roma last summer. Last week, he announced his retirement in an emotional statement. The German football world currently reels from the loss of two footballing legends within a short time span. The end of Hummels’ career – coupled with the shock announcement that Thomas Müller will be leaving Bayern – constitutes a huge generational shift.

Even if no other German footballing news outlets are confirming the Sport Bild story, signing Hummels would make a great deal of sense for BVB. The fact that centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck recently succumbed to injury and that fellow central defender Waldemar Anton cannot seem to find his groove with his new club leaves the squad in need of help.

Hummels played for BVB more than 500 times between 2008 and 2016, and from 2019 to 2024. Though he didn’t exactly depart the club on good terms last summer, the new Dortmund administrative structure may leave him amenable to a brief return ahead of his professional farewell.

GGFN | Peter Weis