Wolfsburg, Sept 19: Germany defender Arne Friedrich has quit Wolfsburg following a year plagued by injury.
“Arne Friedrich came to us and requested the contract termination,” Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath said Monday. “We regret this and of course wish him all the best for the future.”
Friedrich had a contract until 2013 after joining Wolfsburg in 2010, following Hertha Berlin's relegation.
“Both sides parted amicably,” Friedrich wrote on his website. “I'll take the next few weeks to consider carefully how to proceed and what path to take.”
Friedrich missed the first half of last season with a slipped disc, and another slipped disk in June prevented the 32-year-old player from training with the first team this season.
Friedrich played 15 of a possible 40 Bundesliga games for Wolfsburg.
He made the last of his 82 international appearances for Germany in March, when he scored an own-goal in a European Championship qualifier in Austria that Germany won 2-1.
Friedrich told Kicker magazine at the end of August he had “no intention” of leaving Wolfsburg.
Friedrich will have to wait until the transfer period opens in January before signing for another club. AP
