RB Leipzig have paid €2.5m to prise Martín Demichelis away from Real Mallorca — the club he just relegated from La Liga — and handed him a two-year contract to replace Ole Werner. Make of that what you will.
Managing director Marcel Schaefer was enthusiastic enough in his welcome: "Martin is a great manager, he brings a high level of competence with a system which combines intense football and a clear line on the type of play he wants to play." Demichelis, for his part, promised "bold, intense and exciting football." Whether Leipzig's fanbase is buying that after watching a Mallorca side go down is another matter.
Guido Schäfer of the Leipziger Volkszeitung was blunter: "Demichelis cannot be worse than Werner, but he will not have time to prove himself." That's the frame this appointment will live inside from day one.
Why Werner's Exit Still Doesn't Add Up
The dismissal of Ole Werner after a single season — despite dragging the club from relegation candidates to back-to-back top-nine finishes — remains the harder story to explain. Werner was building something. He didn't get the third season most managers need to actually embed a system. That's the decision that deserves scrutiny, not just the appointment that followed it.
Jürgen Klopp, in his role as Global Head of Soccer across the Red Bull network, is widely expected to have influenced the hire. Whether that speaks well or badly of Demichelis probably depends on how the first half of the Bundesliga season goes.
What Demichelis does bring: a 56% career win rate, a German speaker's advantage in a league that has historically struggled with managers who lack the language, and a genuine connection to the Bundesliga having spent years at Bayern Munich — first as a player winning four titles, then developing his coaching credentials with Bayern's U19s and U23s. He also led River Plate to a treble in 2022/23, which tends to get glossed over in the relegation narrative.
The Financial Picture Is the Real Story
Missing out on European football in 2025/26 has left a hole that goes well beyond the table. Transfermarkt estimates the total income shortfall at around €113m — roughly €60m in UEFA prize and participation money, and a further €40-60m in matchday, hospitality, and media revenue. That's not an abstract number. It means Leipzig almost certainly need to sell.
The names drawing interest are significant:
- Yan Diomande — the Ivory Coast winger has Premier League clubs circling, with Liverpool reportedly tabling €86m. Real Madrid and PSG have also registered interest according to Sky.
- Costello Lukeba — Barcelona, under Hansi Flick, are said to be targeting the centre-back as a direct replacement for an underperforming Andreas Christensen, per Spanish media.
- David Raum — valued at around €30m, the Germany left-back is attracting Premier League attention, with Bournemouth linked via the Bournemouth Echo and the involvement of former Leipzig manager Marco Rose.
If World Cup performances accelerate interest — and they easily could — Demichelis may be building his first XI while watching it get dismantled around him. Leipzig's squad is valued at €503m, second in the Bundesliga, but that figure only holds if they keep the players in it. Raum at €30m looks like a straightforward sell. Diomande at €86m would hurt considerably more.
Training begins July 13 at the Red Bull Arena. First pre-season friendly is at home to FC Ingolstadt on July 25, followed by SC Verl on August 1 before a training camp in Saalfelden, Austria. Demichelis has roughly six weeks to work with whatever squad is left by then.
