Football | Bundesliga
As of: June 17, 2026 8:49 p.m
Ole Werner’s time as head coach of RB Leipzig is over. After just one year, Werner was relieved of his duties.
There has been more than just rumors since last week, now it’s official: Bundesliga soccer team RB Leipzig is starting the new season with a new coach. Ole Werner was released on Wednesday. The club announced this on Wednesday.
There has been speculation about a possible separation for several weeks. The Argentinian Martin Demichelis is considered his successor. However, RB did not confirm this. “We have analyzed the past season intensively and conclusively over the past few days. On Tuesday evening we made the decision to fill the position of head coach,” said Marcel Schäfer, managing director of sports at RB.
“Changed approach required”
“Further development of content and a changed approach to the tasks ahead of us are required.” Kicker recently reported on concerns about content and supposedly questionable communication. Werner’s relationship with Jürgen Klopp, Head of Global Soccer at RB, is said to have cooled noticeably. Werner took over the team on July 1, 2025.
Video:
Ole Werner’s days at RB Leipzig numbered? (1 min)
Discontent despite Champions League qualification
His exit comes as a surprise from a sporting perspective. The 38-year-old had led RB back to the Champions League stage – despite the upheaval and the heavyweight departures of Xavi Simons, Lois Openda and Benjamin Sesko. Werner himself was “very happy” with his first season, as he said in an interview with SPORT IM OSTEN.
Under him, RB often played convincingly offensively in a 4-3-3 system, but trembled several times against the smaller players and was left behind several times against the big players. Nevertheless, Werner fulfilled the sporting requirement and came third behind Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. With 65 points, they missed their own Bundesliga record by just two points. But suddenly that wasn’t enough for the bosses.
Ex-Bayern defender Martin Demichelis considered Werner’s successor
After analyzing the season, the decision-makers came to the conclusion that Werner was not the right one. “Secretly” was looking for a successor. Demichelis, who was recently relegated from the Spanish La Liga with Real Mallorca, came into focus. The Argentine undoubtedly has the bigger name, but he cannot boast record successes as a coach in Europe, but at least he led River Plate to the championship in Argentina in 2023.
Shepherd with roll backwards
After the successful qualification for the premier class, Leipzig’s sports director Marcel Schäfer was willing to extend Werner’s contract as soon as possible. But at the beginning of June, the 41-year-old publicly backtracked a little and referred to a season analysis that was still pending. This has now apparently been completed – with a probably unexpected outcome for Werner. Leipzig only paid around two million euros to Werder Bremen for the 38-year-old in the summer of 2025. Although the coach only signed for two years at the time, the intention was definitely a long-term collaboration. Schäfer is said to have saved Werner from elimination twice during the season.
Impulse came from the team around Klopp and Gomez
From right: Jürgen Klopp (Head of Soccer Red Bull), RB Leipzig’s supervisory board chairman and Red Bull managing director Oliver Mintzlaff, Tatjana Haenni (CEO at RB Leipzig)
Who makes the decisions at the Red Bull flagship club? Sports managing director Marcel Schäfer is officially in charge and has the authority to sign at Leipzig’s Cottaweg. The global soccer team around Klopp and his experts Mario Gomez, Jürgen Kramny, Peter Krawietz and Zsolt Löw only act in an advisory capacity. According to dpa information, the impetus for a coaching change, which was planned for the spring, came from this team. Mintzlaff, who sometimes hears the whispers of the experts in the VIP stand, is also one of the drivers who want change.
The bosses in the RB Group apparently want to think big again by reaching the Champions League. The higher-level Red Bull experts probably don’t trust Werner, who never appears as a loudspeaker, to be able to handle the triple burden. In their opinion, there was not enough development during the many training sessions without European Cup trips.
SpiO/dpa/sid