Bayern Munich icon Philipp Lahm wins Germany's Footballer of the Year for the first time two months after retiring

• Philipp Lahm brought an end to an incredible career with Bayern Munich in May
• He was voted Footballer of the Year by Association of German Sports Journalists
• Lahm was a clear winner ahead of Toni Kroos and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
• The 33-year-old was also honoured with the Bavarian Sport Award in Munich

Philipp Lahm has been voted Germany's Footballer of the Year for the first time in his life, two months after calling time on an incredible career with Bayern Munich.

The 33-year-old won a succession of trophies with the Bavarian outfit and has been honoured with the coveted award, which is organised by magazine kicker and voted for by the Association of German Sports Journalists.

Lahm was a clear winner with 242 votes, beating Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos (192 votes) and Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (120 votes). His vote count represented over a quarter of the 885 that were counted.

'It's a real honour and I'm truly pleased with it. I think the journalists in the vote have watched me for my entire career,' Lahm stated on Bayern Munich's official website.

Having hung up his boots upon collecting his eighth Bundesliga title – fifth as captain – in May, this was the last chance for the World Cup winning Germany international to claim the coveted prize.

He finished second in 2004 and 2006 respectively and believes failure to win the award before now was down to the fact that he spent most of his career playing at full back. 

'History shows that it is incredibly tough for a defender to be named Footballer of the Year because over the course of a year there is normally always a forward who steals the headlines up front,' Lahm stated. 

It was the second piece of individual silverware that the longstanding Bayern Munich captain collected over the weekend after he was awarded the Bavarian Sport Award for the second time.

Lahm made over 500 appearances for Bayern Munich during a 22-year association with the club that started at youth level. Only a two-year loan spell with Stuttgart interrupted his time at the club and was supplemented by 113 Germany caps.

He became the first player to enter Bayern Munich's Hall of Fame since 2008, joining Franz Beckenbauer, Oliver Kahn and Gerd Muller.