By Ralf Meier and Torsten Rumpf
Sensation transfer in the 2nd league perfect!
Ex-national player Max Kruse (35) is moving to SC Paderborn. The striker terminated his contract in Wolfsburg at the end of November and has been looking for a club ever since.
Max Kruse: Perfect sensation! Change to SC Paderborn
The offensive player receives a one-year contract with East Westphalia. Kruse is considered the dream player of coach Lukas Kwasniok and manager Benjamin Weber. The last details were clarified on Friday morning.
One thing is clear: Kruse has to make do with significantly less salary than last time in Wolfsburg. There it came to an estimated 3.8 million a year.
At the second division, the salary is capped, the top earners get a maximum of around 30,000 euros a month.
There are also special payments and bonuses, which should be between 120,000 and 160,000 euros. Kruse would thus come to around 500,000 euros a year.
But: Because he is free of charge, Kruse, who is supposed to sign a one-year contract, will probably also – as usual – get a bonus when signing the contract.
What does Paderborn want with Kruse?
After sixth place last year, the East Westphalians are aiming for their third promotion to the Bundesliga next season after 2014 and 2019. Kruse should help with his experience from 307 Bundesliga and 63 second division games.
But: The striker has not played a game for almost a year (September 3, 2022). Most recently, he kept fit with a private trainer.
Kruse recently spent a week on vacation in the Bahamas. After a stopover in Miami, he and his wife Dilara returned to Berlin, their adopted home, from Frankfurt on Thursday afternoon.
Next stop is Paderborn…