Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl leaves as part of major shakeup in trophyless season

DORTMUND, Germany — 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 “mutually agreed to end their collaboration” after reaching an “amicable” decision with management.

“The summer is the right time for a change. To allow both sides to prepare, we mutually agreed to an immediate termination of Sebastian’s contract,” managing director Lars Ricken said in a statement. “Sebastian 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.”

Kehl, a former team captain who helped lead Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012, took over as the club’s director of licensed players in 2018 before he was promoted to sporting director in 2022.

“The departure of Sebastian Kehl naturally represents a significant change in our sporting leadership,” said Carsten Cramer, who took over as CEO from Hans-Joachim Watzke last October. “To 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.”

Kehl, who joined Dortmund from Freiburg in January 2002, said it “has been a part of my life for half my life, and I have an extremely strong connection to this great club … Dortmund, the incredible stadium, and the Südtribüne (south stand) will always hold a special place in my heart. It has been an honor.”

Internal disputes

Kehl and Ricken were reportedly often in dispute with their responsibilities for the squad overlapping. Kehl’s departure leaves Ricken in a strengthened position.

It’s also not the first change announced by the club before the season ends. Earlier this month, Ricken announced the departure of midfielder Julian Brandt. The club then said Salih Özcan and Niklas Süle are also leaving at the end of the season once their contracts expire.

Germany defender Nico Schlotterbeck’s 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 out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his left knee.

Dortmund is second in the Bundesliga with little chance of catching runaway leader Bayern Munich, 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.