Lars and Sven Bender to retire at end of the season

The two 31-year-olds confirmed on Monday that 2020-21 will be their last campaign in senior football.

In a statement, they said the decision was motivated by "health and family", saying: "Unfortunately, it's becoming increasingly more difficult for us to perform consistently".

"This decision has been anything but easy not least because of the honest, fair and understanding relationship with the Leverkusen club management in the past and right up to today ".

Lars Bender joined from 1860 Munich in 2009 and has been captain of Leverkusen since 2015.

Sven signed in 2017 after eight successful years at Borussia Dortmund, where he won two Bundesliga titles, two DFB-Pokals, two DFL-Supercups and reached the Champions League final in 2013.

They have 17 senior caps for Germany between them and were part of the silver-medal-winning side at the 2016 Olympic Games.