Roger Smith
After expulsion – high severance payment for German coach
12/12/2024 – 11:51 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Roger Schmidt was fired as coach of Benfica Lisbon in the summer. Shortly before Christmas he receives a large severance payment. But he’s still waiting for something else.
Former Bundesliga coach Roger Schmidt received a high severance payment after his dismissal from Benfica Lisbon. As the Portuguese record champions announced on Thursday, an agreement was reached with the 57-year-old on 8.7 million euros. Schmidt was released from the traditional Portuguese club in August after a weak start to the season; his contract ran until 2026.
The German coach was officially still tied to Benfica, which made any negotiations between Schmidt and other clubs more difficult. Now the former coach of PSV Eindhoven and Bayer Leverkusen may be facing a new commitment. As the “Bild” newspaper reported, he is to be traded as a possible successor to the current Leipzig coach Marco Rose. Although RB recently issued a job guarantee that Rose should not be fired until at least the end of the year, it is questionable whether this will continue to apply if the team does not achieve the corresponding results.
On Tuesday, RB was the first German participant to be eliminated early from the Champions League against Aston Villa (0-2). Performances in the Bundesliga have also fluctuated greatly recently. Schmidt also knows the RB empire well from his time at RedBull Salzburg. With the club he became Austrian champion and cup winner in 2014 and won the award for Coach of the Year in Austria that year.
Transfer market expert Florian Plettenberg claims to have learned that Schmidt is also considered a coach at West Ham United. Julen Lopetegui’s chair is currently shaking a lot at the Premier League club. Schmidt is considered a possible successor if the Spaniard is fired.
In his first year at Benfica Lisbon, the trained mechanical engineer was responsible for an outstanding season: under his leadership, the club became champions for the 38th time and reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League. In the second year, however, they only finished second behind local rivals Sporting. In the summer of this year, Schmidt was a candidate for the coaching position at FC Bayern, but the job at Säbener Straße was ultimately given to Vincent Kompany.