The Germany legend, and all-time leading scorer in World Cup finals, has decided to hang up his boots after a long and successful career. All-time Germany top-scorer Miroslav Klose has opted to hang up his boots after leaving Lazio at the end of the 2015-16 campaign following the expiry of his contract.
Klose had been linked with a move to MLS and former club Kaiserslautern over the past few months, but has opted to retire instead and take up a position with Germany’s national team.
The 38-year-old will be following an individual education and traineeship under national team coach Joachim Low and sporting director Hansi Flick with an eye on a future coaching career, while also joining Low’s backroom staff.
The attacker made 137 appearances for Germany – with only Lothar Matthaus winning more caps – and scored an impressive 71 goals to become his country’s all-time top goalscorer.
He won the World Cup in 2014, having finished as a runner-up in 2002. Klose is also the all-time top scorer at World Cup finals, with 16 strikes spread over four tournaments.