Leipzig sporting director Kroesche to leave after 'intensive discussions'

Berlin (AFP) – RB Leipzig’s sporting director Markus Kroesche will leave the club at the end of the season, the German Bundesliga side announced on Monday.

There has been intense speculation about the future of Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann in recent days, with Kicker reporting he has asked the club to terminate his contract so he can join Bayern Munich.

Leipzig said that Kroesche would leave after “intensive discussions regarding the club’s future”.

“RB Leipzig and sporting director Markus Kroesche have mutually come to the decision to end their collaboration and terminate Kroesche’s contract by mutual agreement at the end of the 2020/21 season. The contract originally ran until 2022,” the club said in a statement.

The Bayern coaching job could be up for grabs after current boss Hansi Flick said he wants to quit at the end of the current campaign.

The 33-year-old Nagelsmann is widely tipped to take that job, with German media reports suggest Salzburg coach Jesse Marsch could take over at Leipzig.

Oliver Mintzlaff, Leipzig’s chief executive officer, said Kroesche’s duties would be taken over by Florian Scholz and Christopher Vivell until the end of the season.

“I wish the club and the team all the best and thank everyone for the successful time together,” Kroesche said.

Nagelsmann and Kroesche both joined Leipzig in 2019, helping the club reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time last season, where they lost to Paris Saint-Germain.

This term, they sit second in the Bundesliga, seven points behind Bayern with three games remaining, but were knocked out of the Champions League in the last 16 by Liverpool.