DORTMUND, Germany (AP) 鈥� Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl is leaving the team with immediate effect as the club undergoes a major shakeup after what will be a trophyless season.
Dortmund said Sunday Kehl and the club had 鈥渕utually agreed to end their collaboration鈥� after reaching an 鈥渁micable鈥� decision with management.
鈥淭he summer is the right time for a change. To allow both sides to prepare, we mutually agreed to an immediate termination of Sebastian鈥檚 contract,鈥� managing director Lars Ricken said in a statement. 鈥淪ebastian and I also share a long history. We not only played together for Borussia Dortmund, but we also won the German championship together in 2002. Sebastian has made enormous contributions to our club.鈥�
Kehl, a former team captain who helped lead Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012, took over as the club鈥檚 director of licensed players in 2018 before he was promoted to sporting director in 2022.
鈥淭he departure of Sebastian Kehl naturally represents a significant change in our sporting leadership,鈥� said , who took over as CEO from Hans-Joachim Watzke last October. 鈥淭o facilitate the necessary changes for the upcoming season and also to give Sebastian time to consider the next steps in his professional career, this separation is the logical step at this time.鈥�
Kehl, who joined Dortmund from Freiburg in January 2002, said it 鈥渉as been a part of my life for half my life, and I have an extremely strong connection to this great club 鈥� Dortmund, the incredible stadium, and the S眉dtrib眉ne (south stand) will always hold a special place in my heart. It has been an honor.鈥�
Internal disputes
Kehl and Ricken were reportedly often in dispute with their responsibilities for the squad overlapping. Kehl鈥檚 departure leaves Ricken in a strengthened position.
It鈥檚 also not the first change announced by the club before the season ends. Earlier this month, Ricken announced the . The club then said Salih 脰zcan and Niklas S眉le are also leaving at the end of the season once their contracts expire.
Germany defender Nico Schlotterbeck鈥檚 future remains undecided with his Dortmund contract expiring next year and no decision yet on a renewal.
Dortmund announced Saturday that team captain Emre Can had agreed a one-year extension to his contract that was due to expire at the end of this season. Can is with a torn ACL in his left knee.
Dortmund is second in the Bundesliga with , while it was knocked out of the Champions League by Atalanta after squandering its 2-0 lead from the first leg of their playoff. Bayer Leverkusen knocked the club out in the quarterfinals of the German Cup.
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