Matthias Ginter

Matthias Lukas Ginter (German pronunciation: [maˈtiːas ˈɡɪntɐ]; born 19 January 1994) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club SC Freiburg.

Ginter began his career with SV March before he moved to the youth squad of SC Freiburg for the 2005–06 season. With the under-19 team he won the Under-19 DFB-Pokal in 2011 and 2012.

In January 2012, Ginter trained with Freiburg's first team due, in part, to a loss of several players from the roster during the winter transfer window. On 21 January 2012, Ginter made his professional debut when he was substituted in for Anton Putsila in the 70th minute against fellow relegation battlers FC Augsburg. In the 88th minute of the game, he scored the winning goal from a free-kick by Michael Lumb for his team in the 1–0 victory. The goal, which came two days after Ginter's 18th birthday, made him SCF's youngest Bundesliga goalscorer in the club's history. The record was previously held by Dennis Aogo.

On 17 July 2014 Ginter signed for Borussia Dortmund on a five-year deal. He made his debut on 13 August, playing the full match as they won the DFL-Supercup 2–0 against Bayern Munich at the Westfalenstadion.

On 4 July 2017, Ginter signed with Dortmund rivals Mönchengladbach on a four-year deal. The move was worth around €17 million.

On 4 May 2022, Freiburg (the club where Ginter began his career) announced Ginter's signing from Mönchengladbach on a free transfer ahead of the 2022–23 season. On 20 May 2026, he would play in his club's first European final in the Europa League, but finish runner-up.

Ginter represented the under-21 team at the 2015 European Championship in the Czech Republic, starting all four matches. In their second group match at the Eden Arena in Prague against Denmark, following two Kevin Volland goals, Ginter rounded off the scoring by heading in Amin Younes' cross in the 53rd minute, leading to a 3–0 victory.

On 5 March 2014, Ginter debuted for the German senior squad after coming on as a 90th-minute substitute for Mesut Özil in the 1–0 win over Chile in a friendly match at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. He became the 900th player to be capped by the Germany national team. In June 2014, he was named as the youngest player in Germany's 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which went on to win the tournament, although he did not enter the field of play at any point.

He was part of the squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics, where Germany won the silver medal.

Along with fellow World Cup-winner Shkodran Mustafi and Julian Draxler, Ginter won the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.

On 4 June 2018, Ginter was selected in Germany's final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He would not play, making him the only outfield player in German football history who participated in two World Cup campaigns without playing a single minute. Ginter scored his first goal for Germany on 16 November 2019 in a match against Belarus.

On 19 May 2021, he was selected to the squad for the UEFA Euro 2020.

In May 2018, Ginter married his wife Christina. In 2020 their son was born on Ginter's own birthday, 19 January.

In October 2021, the team where Ginter started his career, SC March, renamed their stadium "Matthias-Ginter-Sportpark".

Germany national team Player of the Year: 2019

kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2019–20, 2020–21, 2022–23, 2024–25

UEFA Europa League Team of the Season: 2025–26

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards – Favorite Football Player (Germany, Austria, & Switzerland) nominee: 2020