Official: Peter Gulacsi joins Villarreal after 11 years at RB Leipzig | OneFootball

Peter Gulacsi has ended his 11-year RB Leipzig spell by signing for Villarreal on a contract until 2028, closing a distinguished chapter in German football.

Fabrizio Romano indicated Villarreal will pay around €2m to Leipzig. The 58-time Hungary international is expected to compete with Luiz Júnior, and the Spanish side finished third in La Liga last season.

Gulacsi leaves with 362 competitive appearances for Leipzig and two DFB-Pokal titles. His 269 Bundesliga matches place him among the club’s most significant top-flight figures.

He arrived from Red Bull Salzburg in 2015, when Leipzig were in Germany’s second division. Initially behind Fabio Coltorti, he took the gloves midway through the promotion campaign and kept the number one spot after promotion in 2016.

He helped Leipzig reach Europe and played in the 2019/20 Champions League semi-finals, lifting the DFB-Pokal in 2022 and 2023. An anterior cruciate ligament injury against Celtic in October 2022 sidelined him for almost one year.

He briefly lost his place and was linked with Major League Soccer, yet returned as Blaswich was sold to Bayer Leverkusen. With Maarten Vandevoordt recruited as long-term successor, Ole Werner kept Gulacsi as Bundesliga starter in August after a close pre-season battle.

A clash with Holstein Kiel’s David Zec in April 2025 left him briefly unconscious and in hospital. He remained first choice into winter 2025/26 and extended to 2027 in February, before Vandevoordt took over in April. He signed off on the final day and now targets regular football with Champions League-bound Villarreal.

Source: Get German Football News

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