FIFA is responsible
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Andreas Rettig advocates training compensation for the transferring association when national players change associations. “The fact that a change of association takes place for free disturbs my sense of justice. Training has to be worthwhile, also for the trainer. We want to go in this direction,” said the managing director of the German Football Association to the newspaper “Augsburger Allgemeine”. The world association FIFA is responsible for rule changes.
“There are players who have passed through our youth selection teams from U15 to U21 and then join another association. Of course, the training is largely the responsibility of the clubs, but the association also has some players under its care for up to 75 days a year,” argued the 62-year-old Rettig.
Rettig: “One of the big future topics at the DFB”
Among other things, the 19-year-old offensive star Can Uzun from Eintracht Frankfurt decided in 2024 not to play for the DFB, but for Turkey. “This is one of the biggest future issues at the DFB. A real competition for talent has broken out,” said Rettig.
Uzun, who was born in Regensburg, played for Turkey’s U17 and U18 teams before making his debut for the Turkish national team in March 2024 at the age of 18 – at that time he was an offensive talent for 1. FC Nürnberg in the 2nd Bundesliga. According to the latest market value update, he is Eintracht Frankfurt’s most valuable professional at 45 million euros.
“In a country with 80 million inhabitants, there is a certain potential. If the parents and the family in general have a strong connection to the home country, it is clear that the players feel that too,” explained the former Bundesliga manager. One footballer who has a high market value today and played for Germany from U15 to U21 is Bayer Leverkusen’s €35m summer signing Malik Tillman. The Nuremberg native decided to select the USA in 2022, even though he had appeared 21 times for the DFB’s youth teams.
Other well-known professionals who were born and educated in Germany and chose another national team are Kenan Yıldız (Turkey | Juve), Josip Stanisic (Croatia | Bavaria), Fisnik Asllani (Kosovo | Hoffenheim) and Ibrahim Maza (Algeria | Bayer). Here is the list of the most valuable players with Germany as a second citizenship.