Days after being released by Borussia Dortmund, former Germany forward Andre Schurrle has announced his retirement at the age of 29.

A native of Ludwigshafen, Schurrle was a member of Germany's 2014 World Cup-winning side in Brazil.

Schurrle told Der Spiegel that the struggles of football were getting to him.

"The decision matured in me for a long time," Schurrle said. "The depths became deeper and the highlights less and less."

Schurrle thanked his fans and former teams on social media.

"On behalf of myself and my family, I want to thank everybody who was a part of these phenomenal years," Schurrle wrote. "The support and love you shared with me was unbelievable and more I could have ever asked for. Now I'm ready and open for all the beautiful possibilities that are coming towards me."

A product of the Mainz academy, Schurrle made his pro debut with the first team in 2009. After two seasons and 60 appearances, Schurrle moved to Bayer Leverkusen where he would play Champions League football for the first time. A season in which he scored 14 goals in 43 appearances in all competitions in 2012-2013 led to interest from Jose Mourinho who brought him to Chelsea in an £18 million move.

In his first Premier League season, Schurrle scored eight goals in 30 appearances, including registering a hat-trick against Fulham. The next year, Schurrle found his playing time limited, appearing in just 14 matches, but won the Premier League title with the Blues. Shortly afterwards, he departed back to the Bundesliga in a £22 million move to Wolfsburg.

Following two seasons and 13 goals, Schurrle moved on to Dortmund, where he found playing time hard to come by, as well, making just 51 appearances across all competitions. In 2018, Schurrle moved to Fulham on loan where he scored six goals in 24 league appearances for the Cottagers. Last summer, Schurrle was loaned out to Russian Premier League side Spartak Moscow. He did not feature at all in 2020 due to injury.

With the expiry of his loan on July 1, Schurrle returned to Dortmund, who granted him an early release with another year remaining on his contract.

Internationally, Schurrle was capped 57 times by Die Mannschaft, scoring 22 goals, including a brace in Germany's famous 7-1 rout of Brazil at the 2014 World Cup.