The defender admits he was disillusioned at Signal Iduna Park but says he has been reinvigorated by Jurgen Klopp’s successor
Mats Hummels has revealed how close he came to quitting Borussia Dortmund only to be persuaded into staying by new coach Thomas Tuchel.
BVB endured a dreadful start to the 2014-15 campaign and dropped into the relegation zone before the winter break.
Although they eventually rallied during the second half of the season, Hummels still felt disillusioned with both Dortmund and himself.
However, after Jurgen Klopp stood down, Tuchel took charge and promptly set about convincing Hummels to remain at Signal Iduna Park.
“The first half of the 2014-15 season was a disaster for me in relation to my weight,” the defender told Kicker. “I tend to comfort eat when I am frustrated.
“There were days where I would have liked to leave and days where I wanted to stay.
“But if I move I need to be 100 per cent convinced. I have to know if it works on every level. That wasn’t the case this year.
“I had a talk with Tuchel during the phase where I was still considering my future. I really liked what he said back then and how he said it. He addressed my personal mistakes right away.
“If a coach wants me to convince to stay, I really like it if he doesn’t try to sugarcoat things but finds clear words.
“After the talk I had the feeling that working with him can make me stronger again. Now I really weigh a lot less and have returned in a much better shape than in 2014.”
Hummels is also convinced that Tuchel is capable of knocking Bayern Munich off their perch, believing the former Mainz boss has the right attitude when it comes to tackling the Bundesliga champions.
“In Germany, too many clubs are too scared of Bayern, both on and off the pitch,” the centre-half added.
“You often got the impression that many teams already wrote off their matches against Bayern before they were played.
“When Tuchel was at Mainz, they never did that and I always noticed that.”
Bayern have won the last three Bundesliga seasons, ending Dortmund’s two-year reign at the top of Germany.