Boateng hints at international retirement
Germany defender Jerome Boateng says it would be a dream come true to become the Bayern Munich captain and hinted he could retire from international football in 2018.
The 28-year-old was one of the potential candidates for the Germany captaincy after Bastian Schweinsteiger's retirement, but he lost out to club team-mate Manuel Neuer.
While Boateng has no issue with that decision - and identifies Neuer and Thomas Muller as great leaders - he would love the opportunity to succeed Philipp Lahm as Bayern skipper.
"I personally congratulated Manu immediately when he got the Germany captaincy," he told Bild "The captaincy with the national team is not a must [for me].
"I would be very happy to be the Bayern captain if it came to that. For me, it would be just a dream and an honour, with the long line of players that have previously worn the captain's armband.
"As with Germany, though, with Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller, there are other contenders who deserve it."
And Boateng added that he could call time on his international career after the 2018 World Cup - but only if Germany triumphed again.
"Maybe I have already decided that 2018 in Russia will be my final tournament," he added. "But only in the case of a [successful] world title defence."
