The 47-year-old has been under growing pressure following controversies culminating in a newspaper report on Monday that he had accepted the gift of a 6,000 Euro ($6,700) watch from his Ukrainian colleague Hryhoriy Surkis.
In a statement on Tuesday, Grindel confirmed that he had received the gift and that he would end his three-year tenure in charge.
“I am deeply shaken to have to give up my role as DFB president over such an issue,” Grindel said.
The 57-year-old refuted this in a statement, saying: “Mr Surkis had no financial interest in the DFB. He never asked me for any support, then or after. There was and is no conflict of interest for me.”
Grindel’s time as president of the DFB is the shortest in the organisation’s 114-year history after he assumed the position in April 2016.
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