Eintracht Frankfurt: Separation from sports director Markus Krösche after years of success

The more than five-year era of sports director Markus Krösche at Eintracht Frankfurt is over. The 46-year-old will be released at his own request with immediate effect, the Bundesliga club announced. However, his contract, which runs until the summer of 2028, will continue to be modified, it said. The Eintracht supervisory board made this decision in an extraordinary meeting.

Axel Hellmann will temporarily take over Krösche's duties, who will also be promoted from spokesman to CEO. The long-term appointment of the sports department will be decided in the next few weeks, the club said.

In the past few months there have been repeated rumors about Krösche's departure. With regard to the club's demands, it was now said that all those responsible had full conviction. "Against this background, we respected his wish for an immediate release and granted it to him on the supervisory board," said Eintracht President Mathias Beck

The Europa League triumph in May 2022 also took place during Krösche's term of office. "The past few years at Eintracht Frankfurt were an extraordinary, intense and unforgettable time for me," said Krösche. "After more than five very successful but also very demanding years at this great club, I have developed the feeling for some time that I need a change - and that a new impulse could possibly help Eintracht," he added.

The move to Milan didn't happen

After a messed up Bundesliga season and the change of coach from Albert Riera to Adi Hütter, Eintracht will now also make a new beginning in terms of sporting management. Krösche was linked to AC Milan in June - the move did not materialize at the time. Now the 46-year-old is leaving without moving directly to a new club.

Krösche (previously SC Paderborn and RB Leipzig) has been the sports director of the 2022 Europa League winners since mid-2021. During his tenure in Frankfurt, he repeatedly made good transfer decisions and thus became one of the top managers in German professional football. Among others, he sold Omar Marmoush to Manchester City for 75 million euros, Hugo Ekitiké to Liverpool FC for almost 100 million euros and Randal Kolo Muani to Paris Saint-Germain for more than 90 million euros. The trio of attackers moved to the traditional club from Hesse for a fraction of the money.

The sports director has recently been criticized more heavily, and the signing of coach Riera in particular was seen as a big mistake. He was also criticized for the squad's poor value for money last season. The tough transfer summer caused unrest, as did a property purchase in Croatia.