Million-row at BVB: Kehl plays hardball over his severance | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund is wrestling with former sporting director Sebastian Kehl over the details of the separation. Apparently, a severance package worth millions is on the table — but negotiations with the BVB legend are reportedly proving tough.

After parting ways with Sebastian Kehl, Borussia Dortmund has been working behind the scenes on an early termination of his contract — but the process is apparently not going entirely smoothly. According to BILD, the talks are currently being handled at lawyer level, with the clear goal of terminating the contract, which runs until 2027, as soon as possible.

However, the process is proving more difficult than initially expected. According to BILD, sources close to the club say that “there is still some friction.” At the center of the negotiations is a possible severance payment of around two million euros for the roughly 15 months remaining on the contract.

Officially, BVB had still portrayed the split with the 46-year-old as amicable at the end of March. Sporting managing director Lars Ricken described it as a decision reached “by mutual agreement” and after a “very open conversation.” Managing director Carsten Cramer also emphasized: “The separation from Sebastian Kehl naturally marks a turning point in our sporting leadership level.”

Kehl’s future after BVB exit still unclear for now

Behind the scenes, however, the situation is said to have been significantly more strained. According to media reports, the relationship between Kehl and parts of the club’s leadership in particular was recently no longer sustainable. In addition, key personnel matters — including negotiations with Nico Schlotterbeck — had stalled and caused additional internal pressure.

Photo: IMAGO

Kehl himself said goodbye with emotional words: “Borussia Dortmund has accompanied me for half my life, and I feel an extraordinary bond with this great club.” At the same time, he said the moment had come for both sides to go their separate ways.

While Ole Book has already been installed as his successor, Kehl’s sporting future remains open. According to BILD, there is interest from within the Bundesliga, including VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, and RB Leipzig. One thing is clear: Kehl is aiming for an executive-level management position at his next club. Until then, the focus is likely to remain on the multimillion-euro poker game with BVB — and on the question of how expensive the separation will ultimately be.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.