Mats Julian Hummels[2] (German pronunciation:[ˈmatsˈhʊml̩s]; born 16 December 1988) is a German former professionalfootballer who played as acentre-back. Known for his well-timed tackles, accurate long passes from the back, aerial ability and strength, he is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation.
Hummels came through theBayern Munich youth academy before joiningBorussia Dortmund on loan in January 2008, and officially signing for Dortmund in February 2009 for €4 million. He rejoined Bayern in 2016 for an undisclosed fee, and was sold back to Dortmund three years later, having won theBundesliga in all his seasons in Munich. Hummels made over 500 total appearances for Dortmund, winning the Bundesliga and theDFB-Pokal twice, as well as finishing runner-up in theUEFA Champions League in2013 and2024. After a season in Italy withRoma, Hummels announced his retirement from the sport in 2025.
Hummels is a product ofBayern Munich'syouth academy, first entering the club as a six-year-old. He signed his first professional contract on 19 December 2006, until 2010. On 19 May 2007, inthe season's final match, he played his firstBundesliga match with the first team in a 5–2 home routing of1. FSV Mainz 05. He also played for thereserve team.[3]
In January 2008, Hummels joinedBorussia Dortmund, initially on loan. He finished the2007–08 season with 16 matches played.[3] During hisfirst full season, he quickly established himself as first-choice, as he often partnered newly signedNeven Subotić, but also missed a great part of its final months due to injury. By the end of the2007–08 season he would lose his first final with Dortmund in a 1–2 loss against his lender clubBayern Munich in theDFB-Pokal final. In February 2009, he was fully signed to the club[4] for a fee of €4 million.[5] In the summer of 2008, he would win his first trophy with Borussia Dortmund in aGerman supercup match between Dortmund and Bayern Munich, which Dortmund won by 2–1.[citation needed]
The2010–11 season brought increased success for Hummels. He was the regular first-choice centre-back, again paired with Subotić. The duo helped Dortmund to the best defensive record in theBundesliga, as the team won theleague title. Hummels' performances that season displayed great quality intackling, positioning, passing and composure.[6]
Nonetheless, Hummels won the Bundesliga for a second time in2011–12 as Dortmund set a Bundesliga record with the most points in a Bundesliga season with 81 points. Hummels scored a goal in Dortmund's 5–2 win against Bayern in the2012 DFB-Pokal Final as the team completed the league and cupdouble. On 3 June 2012, Hummels signed a new contract to remain at Dortmund.[7] In that season he would score his first goal in theUEFA Champions League, a penalty againstOlympique Marseille in a group stage match to make it 2–0.
In 2012, he would lose theDFL-Supercup final once more with 2–1 against Bayern Munich.
Hummels scored his second Champions League goal in the first leg of the round of 16 in the2012–13 edition of the competition, equalizing late by header againstShakhtar Donetsk.
On 27 July 2013, Hummels was in the Borussia Dortmund line-up that won 4–2 against Bayern Munich to win his first official DFL-Supercup.[9] A year later, on 13 August 2014 he went on to win his second DFL-Supercup in a2–0 victory over Bayern Munich after losing theDFB-Pokal final with 2–0 against Bayern Munich three months prior.
By the end of the season Hummels reached the2015 DFB-Pokal final after a win against Bayern Munich by penalties in the semifinal. Borussia Dortmund would go on to lose the final 1–3 againstBundesliga runners-upVfL Wolfsburg.
Hummels finished his Borussia Dortmund season with two goals in 32 matches played in the2014–15 season[10] and three goals in 50 matches played during the2015–16 season.[11]
With Borussia Dortmund he would reach theUEFA Europa League quarterfinalsthat season - almost reaching the semis after a last-minute 3–4 defeat atAnfield road after leading the second leg match twice by two goals.
He played for Dortmund in the2016 DFB-Pokal final against Bayern Munich shortly after having confirmed that he would join Bayern for the following season. After the game, which Dortmund lost on penalties, coachThomas Tuchel publicly criticised the player. Hummels had asked to be substituted during the game, due to a torn calf muscle.[12]
On 10 May 2016, it was confirmed that Hummels would re-join Bayern Munich from 1 July, signing a five-year contract.[13] The fee was undisclosed, with the BBC citing reports that it was £30 million.[14] He made his debut for Bayern on 14 August 2016 in theDFL-Supercup against his old team Dortmund which his team won with 2–0.[15] On 20 August, Hummels scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 victory overCarl Zeiss Jena during the first round of theDFB-Pokal.[16] On 26 November, Hummels scored his first league goal for the club in a 2–1 win overBayer Leverkusen.[17] On 24 September, Hummels suffered a knee injury in his right knee just before half time and was subbed off in a 1–0 victory overHamburger SV.[18] He made his comeback as a substitute in the second half in a 1–0 defeat toAtlético Madrid on 29 September.[19][20]
On 9 April 2017, Hummels missed theChampions League quarter-final first leg againstReal Madrid after sustaining an ankle injury in training.[21] He did not fully recover from the injury and had to play the second leg against Real Madrid as defender.Javi Martínez was shown a red card in the first leg and there was no more backup player in centre-back position; the match ended 4–2 defeat for his side as they got knocked out from the competition.[22][23] On 26 April, Hummels scored a goal against his former club Borussia Dortmund in a 2–3 loss in the DFB-Pokal semi-final.[24] Hummels would play alongsideGermany teammateJérôme Boateng throughout the season. Hummels finished the2016–17 season with three goals in 42 matches played.[15][25]
On 5 August 2017, Hummels started theseason in fashion by defeating Borussia Dortmund to win theDFL-Supercup in the penalty-shootout as the match ended 2–2 after extra time.[27] He scored his first goal of the season in a 5–0 victory overChemnitzer FC in theDFB-Pokal first-round on 12 August.[28] On 1 October, Hummels scored a goal in a 2–2 draw overHertha BSC.[29] On 18 October, he scored his firstChampions League goal for the club and his third goal in the competition in a 3–0 victory overCeltic.[30] Hummels sustained an adductor injury at Bayern's training camp inDoha during the winter break which forced him to miss theleague match againstBayer 04 Leverkusen.[31] On 2 February, Hummels played his first match of the year after recovering from the injury in a 2–0 victory overMainz 05.[32] On 31 March, he made his 50th league appearance for Bayern Munich in a 6–0 victory over Borussia Dortmund.[33] On 28 April, Hummels captained his side for the first time in a 4–1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.[34] Hummels finished the2017–18 season with three goals in 41 matches played.[27][35]
Hummels had a difficult spell midway through the season as he lost his starting place for several matches toNiklas Süle. Hummels was criticized for his comments after the 3–2 loss against Dortmund on 10 November 2018. Hummels blamed his poor performance on him being sick. Hummels said he had blurred vision before the match but he still decided to play the match. Hummels had to be substituted in the second half because of his poor performance.[37]
On 2 October 2018, he would score his second goal for Bayern Munich in theUEFA Champions League and his fourth goal in the entire competition, againstAjax Amsterdam with an early header in the group stage.
On 18 May 2019, Hummels won his fifth Bundesliga title as Bayern finished two points above Dortmund with 78 points. A week later, Hummels won his secondDFB-Pokal as Bayern defeatedRB Leipzig 3–0 in the2019 DFB-Pokal Final.[38]
On 19 June 2019, Bayern Munich came to an agreement with Borussia Dortmund that would see the 30-year-old Hummels rejoin his former club.[39] His team would go on to win the2019's edition of the DFL-Supercup by 2–0 against Bayern Munich – although he remained unused in that match. He clinched his first title following his return by achieving the2020–21 DFB-Pokal after a 4–1 win overRB Leipzig in the final.[40] On 19 February 2023, he featured in his 454th match in a 4–1 win overHertha BSC, becoming the player with the second most appearances at the club ahead ofRoman Weidenfeller, with onlyMichael Zorc with 572 games ahead of him.[41] Later that year, on 24 May, he extended his contract with the club until 2024.[42] Hummels would almost win his third German championship with Borussia Dortmund - and his sixth German championship in total, after merely drawing on the last matchday of the2022–23 Bundesliga in a 2–2 againstMainz. Bayern Munich would win the league by goal-difference after a last-minute winner byJamal Musiala againstKöln.
On 10 April 2024, Hummels played his 500th match for Borussia Dortmund in all competitions againstAtlético Madrid during theChampions League quarter-finals.[43] A week later he assistedJulian Brandt's goal in the second leg match against Atlético Madrid to tie the game on aggregate. A month later, on 7 May, he scored the only goal and his fifth Champions League goal of his career from a header in a 1–0 away victory overParis Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final second leg, becoming the oldest German player, aged 35 years and 143 days, to score in the knockout stages of the competition, and securing his club's qualification to thefinal for the third time in their history.[44] Hummels was given theman of the match award in both games against PSG.[45] Afterwards, his club lost 2–0 againstReal Madrid in the final, once again inWembley.[46] However, he became the second player to produce more than 50 tackles in a single campaign, followingLúcio in 2009–10.[47] He won the man of the match award three times that season, after a 3–1 victory overMilan in the group stage as well as twice in the semis againstPSG (2–0 on aggregate) becoming the player with the most MOTM-awards in the2023–24 UEFA Champions League campaign. He was eventually named in the Team of the Season in that competition often playing alongside fellowcentre-backsNico Schlotterbeck and formerBayern-teammateNiklas Süle throughout the campaign.[48] A few weeks later, on 14 June, his departure from the club was announced.[49]
On 4 September 2024, Hummels left Germany for the first time in his career and signed for Italian clubRoma as a free agent on a one-year deal.[50] On 27 October, he made his debut as a substitute, scoring an own goal in a 5–1 away defeat toFiorentina.[51]
Hummels started his first game for Roma in the fifth matchday of theUEFA Europa League on 28 November in a 2–2 away draw againstTottenham Hotspur, in which he also scored his first and only goal for Roma in stoppage time to save a point for his team.[52]
On 4 April 2025, Hummels announced that he would retire from professional football at the end of the2024–25 season.[53][54] On 10 August, he returned to Borussia Dortmund for a farewell, playing 19 minutes in afriendly againstJuventus, before doing a lap of honour and receiving a standing ovation from the crowd after the end of the match.[55]
Hummels scored the second goal in Germany's 4–0 win overPortugal in their first game of the2014 FIFA World Cup on 16 June, heading a corner fromToni Kroos.[59] After missing the team'sround of 16 match due to illness, Hummels returned to the team for thequarter-final againstFrance, where he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory at theEstádio do Maracanã, once more heading a free-kick from Toni Kroos.[60] In the semis he was part of the legendary7–1 victory overBrazil as well as the1–0 victory overArgentina in the final to win Germany its fourth World Cup title. He was named on the 10-man shortlist forFIFA'sGolden Ball award for the tournament's best player.[61] He as well was part of the team of the tournament along with his teammateJérôme Boateng.
In theUEFA Euro 2016 in France Hummels was part of the starting line-up in every match he has played in. After topping the group stage, his team would go on to win againstSlovakia in the round of 16 as well asItaly in the quarter-finals in which Hummels scored his penalty in the penalty shoot-out. Hummels would miss the semi-final againstFrance due to a yellow card suspension, which resulted in a 0–2 loss for Germany.
Hummels was named in Germany's final 23-man squad for the2018 FIFA World Cup.[63] On 23 June, he missed the second group stage match of the tournament due to a minor injury[64] though his side won the match 2–1 againstSweden.[65] He returned to the side for the final group fixture againstSouth Korea on 27 June, but missed several chances from headers after moving up front during the second half in Germany's unsuccessful attempts to score; ultimately they were defeated 2–0 and eliminated from the tournament for the first time in the association's history.[66]
On 5 March 2019, national team coachJoachim Löw confirmed that he would plan without Hummels for the foreseeable future, along with his club teammatesJérôme Boateng andThomas Müller.[67] On 19 May 2021, Hummels, along with Müller, was included in Germany's final 26-man squad forUEFA Euro 2020 under the same manager.[68] In his first match of Euro 2020, Hummels scored an own goal to grant France a 1–0 win, which was Germany's first own goal in the competition, and the first in a major tournament sinceBerti Vogts' own goal in the1978 FIFA World Cup.[69]
In the 2023–24 season,Julian Nagelsmann called up Hummels for the first time after two years. On his comeback Hummels would go on to win 3–1 in an away match against theUS national team. His last match for the national team remained the 2–0 away defeat againstAustria in November 2023.[71]
Despite his performances in theChampions League, Nagelsmann did not call Hummels up in Germany's 26-man squad for theUEFA Euro 2024 hosted on home soil.[72]
Regarded as one of the best Germandefenders of all time,[73] Hummels is a large, consistent, and physically strong player, known for his powerful tackling and strength in the air, as well as his positional sense, and his ability to read the game and intercept loose balls,[74][75][76] which allowed him to compensate for his lack of pace.[77] A technically gifted and tactically versatilecentre-back, he was also capable of playing as asweeper, or even as adefensive midfielder;[73][78][79] his composure, elegance, ball playing ability, and confidence in possession led him to be compared to compatriotFranz Beckenbauer.[79][80][81] Hummels was capable of playing either in a back–three or a back–four defensive line-up.[82][83] Beyond his qualities as a defender, Hummels also stood for his leadership, having captained Borussia Dortmund.[76][84] Despite his ability, however, he struggled with injuries throughout his career.[85]
His ex-wife,Cathy Fischer [de], was named as Germany'sWAG of the year for 2013.[91] Fischer and Hummels married in June 2015.[92] The couple have a son, born in 2018.[93] Their divorce was finalised in December 2022.[94] Since the end of 2023, Hummels has been in a relationship with German modelNicola Cavanis [de].[95][96][97]
In August 2017, he joined theCommon Goal Project (an initiative ofJuan Mata), being the second footballer to donate 1% of his salary to a collective fund that will support football organizations as a tool to generate sustainable social development throughout the world.[98][99][100]
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