CEO Alexander Wehrle from VfB Stuttgart does not fear a sell-out at the Swabian Bundesliga team in the event of relegation.
“No, all players have valid contracts for the second division,” said the 48-year-old in an interview with “Kicker”. The structure of these contracts is “healthy” and only very few professionals have an exit clause in the event of relegation, Wehrle explained.
VfB, which was also financially shaken by the Corona crisis, has recently been dependent on income from player sales. “Transfer income should not be used to close a gap in earnings in the long term. We should also be able to reinvest our additional income,” emphasized Wehrle. If things go as planned, that could be the case from the 2025/2026 season.
Too much salary, blocked management positions
Basically, sports director Fabian Wohlgemuth and his team have “some construction sites” to work on in the next few years, said Wehrle. “At the moment, players who don’t play a sporting role for us and who are loaned out tie up too much salary and block squad positions that talents from our own offspring should move to.”
Wehrle also announced that Mercedes would “remain both a sponsoring partner and an anchor investor of VfB”: “We are in intensive, trusting talks and will come to a decision promptly as to which trademark rights Mercedes will receive in the new season.”
VfB is 15th in the table before the 23rd match day. It is threatened with being relegated from the Bundesliga for the third time in seven years. On Saturday (6.30 p.m. / Sky) the people of Stuttgart will receive the German record champions FC Bayern Munich. (dpa)