Simon Rolfes rules out Leverkusen return for Julian Brandt | OneFootball

On Saturday, Bayer 04 Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro said he could see Julian Brandt returning to the BayArena, but left the decision of whether to make a move for the Borussia Dortmund midfielder up to sporting managing director Simon Rolfes.

As a guest on the Sport1 program “Doppelpass” on Sunday, Rolfes ruled out a Leverkusen return for Brandt, who is set to leave Dortmund when his contract expires this summer.

“We have a great player in that position with Ibo Maza, who will develop excellently over the next few years. Therefore, Julian will not be a topic for us,” Rolfes said.

“Back then, Julian felt that maybe he couldn’t win titles with us. Then he went to Borussia Dortmund, where we would have liked to keep him,” the Leverkusen boss added on Brandt's departure seven years ago.

During his five-year stay at the BayArena, Brandt made 215 appearances for Leverkusen, scoring 42 goals and providing 52 assists.