Freiburg brings in U21 national goalkeeper
Bundesliga club pays record fee for new signing
May 23, 2026 – 11:06 a.mReading time: 1 min.
Noah Atubolu was number one in Freiburg for three years. But the 23-year-old is facing a change. The right successor is ready.
SC Freiburg has signed U21 national goalkeeper Mio Backhaus from Werder Bremen. According to media reports, the Europa League finalist will pay a transfer fee of 15 million euros – more than ever before for a player. The club itself did not provide any information about the contents of the contract.
Freiburg’s sports director Jochen Saier said: “Mio has impressively demonstrated in his first Bundesliga season the high level he can play at. He covers all facets of goalkeeping, has a lot of development potential and will also fit in very well with our team as a person.” Backhaus is supposed to replace Noah Atubolu in Freiburg, who will probably leave the club. The 23-year-old’s contract only runs for one year and Atubolu did not want to extend it.
The German-Japanese Backhaus spent his youth at the Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale. At the age of 14 he moved to Alemannia Aachen in Germany. He joined Werder in 2018 and played 32 games for the North Germans in the current season. Since the U15, he has played for all U-national teams of the German Football Association (DFB) and is currently in goal for the U21.