Former Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi has retired from football and joined the Germany Under-17 coaching staff.
The 32-year-old had been without a club since leaving Spanish side Levante in the summer of 2023.
He has made appearances on German television as a pundit during this summer’s European Championship.
Advertisement
He said: “It is a shame because I would have liked to have played football myself for longer. I’ve had the idea of gaining experience as a coach for a long time. I want to pass on to the boys all the experience I gained during my time with the under-15s, under-21s and of course with the senior national team.”
Mustafi, who previously played for Hamburg, Everton and Sampdoria, joined Arsenal from Valencia in 2016.
The centre-back made 151 appearances for the north London side, scoring nine goals and providing five assists.
During his five years with Arsenal, he won the FA Cup on two occasions before joining Schalke on a free transfer in February 2021.
He then joined Levante in the Segunda Division in the summer of 2021 but a series of injuries limited him to making just 15 appearances during his two seasons at the club.
Mustafi made 20 appearances for the German national team and was part of the side that won the World Cup in 2014 in Brazil and the Confederations Cup in 2017.
The defender also won the under-17 European Championship with Germany in a team that featured the likes of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Bernd Leno, Mario Gotze and Kevin Volland.
GO DEEPER
Uncomplicated, normal, a bull of a centre forward - Fullkrug is Germany's unlikely hero
(Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)