Cologne star Mark Uth released a statement on Sunday announcing that he will officially retire after the end of this season.

Mark Uth, 33, grew up in the Cologne youth training system and made his official debut for Heerenveen in January 2013. He then played for Heracles, Hoffenheim and Schalke 04, and returned to Cologne in January 2020.

Uth mainly plays as a shadow striker in Cologne, but can also play as a center forward and attacking midfielder. So far, he has played 76 times for Cologne, scoring 12 goals and providing 17 assists.

However, Uth was plagued by injuries during his four seasons at Cologne. He finally decided to end his 12-year career and said in his retirement statement: "After weeks and months of careful consideration, I have decided to retire after the end of this season. However, the players of Cologne made it difficult for me to make up my mind. I started my football career in Cologne at the age of 12. I am very proud of this career, and now I can end it in Cologne. I feel very relieved. Before retiring, I only have one goal: to make sure we return to the Bundesliga after the last two rounds of the league."

Cologne is currently ranked second in the Bundesliga standings, only 1 point behind the leader Hamburg. If nothing unexpected happens, they will return to the Bundesliga at the end of this season.

FC Köln managing director Christian Keller added: "Mark is a true Cologne man who has had a fantastic career. Even with the injuries that have plagued him over the past three years, his career achievements cannot be ignored. Mark has always had his heart set on the club and the bigger picture, even in times that have been particularly difficult for him personally. He has a strong sense of identity with FC Köln and our team."

"At the end of last season, he was the first to make it clear that he was willing to stay with the team regardless of whether the team was relegated or not, and this had a positive influence on other teammates. This season, Marc's voice in the team is still very important. Because of this, we hope to go all out in the last two games, not only to achieve the goal of returning to the Bundesliga, but also to put a perfect end to Marc's career."