The Green-White squad for the coming season continues to take shape. Now a top performer has announced his departure – and the club explains why.
Captain Ömer Toprak will leave Werder Bremen after promotion to the Bundesliga. The 32-year-old central defender did not accept the “strongly performance-related offer” to extend his expiring contract, the club said on Friday. As a potential replacement for the former player from Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund, the Bremen team had previously signed the two defenders Amos Pieper from Arminia Bielefeld and Niklas Stark from Hertha BSC on a free transfer.
“We would have loved to have continued working with him, especially since he has played a very important role both on and off the pitch over the past three years, despite some difficult phases for him,” said Werder’s head of scouting and professional football, Clemens Fritz. “As captain, he was the leader of the team last year and also led the team through difficult phases.”
However, the new contract offer “takes into account various factors,” explained Fritz. This should mean, among other things, Toprak’s susceptibility to injury and his comparatively high salary in the past three years. The captain said on his farewell: “Pretty much everything was there in the three years. Relegation, relegation, promotion, injuries, last-minute goals and an amazing finish after the last home game against Regensburg and the return to the Bundesliga. For me it is But now it’s time to start a new chapter.”