Contract with Borussia terminated
Christoph Kramer announces his farewell in tears
Christoph Kramer has worn the Borussia Mönchengladbach jersey for ten years. This time now ends a year earlier than originally planned. The contract is terminated. This triggers great emotions in the player. In the meantime, the club is keeping the door open for him.
Former soccer world champion Christoph Kramer announced his immediate departure from Borussia Mönchengladbach with emotional words and tears. As the Bundesliga club announced, the 33-year-old midfielder's contract, which originally ran until the end of the season, will be terminated after a total of ten years.
“I sometimes have a tendency to be silly when I'm sad,” said Kramer in a video on social media in which he initially jokingly announced a contract extension. Then his voice broke: “I'm very sad right now. I'm not that good at saying goodbye, unfortunately. I've decided that I won't actually cry. But there's no other way right now.”
Kramer has played for Gladbach since 2013, with a short break. In total, he played 288 competitive games in the jersey of the traditional club. In the ranking of players with the most competitive appearances for Borussia, Kramer, who was no longer first choice under coach Gerardo Seoane, is in 25th place.
“This thing here was my life”
In the summer he spoke to Seoane and sports director Roland Virkus and explored his opportunities for the coming season. The verdict was unsurprisingly clear: Kramer has no chance, Borussia's midfield center is well enough staffed in terms of quantity and quality. Kramer actually no longer played any role in the planning.
“This thing here was my life,” said the agitated Kramer as he said goodbye: “It felt like home to me.” It was “really an honor” to “put my head and my bones here.” It is not clear where or whether the 2014 world champion will continue his sporting career. During the European Championships, Kramer also worked as a ZDF expert.
“During his time with us, Chris has become a real identification figure for this club and has been one of the faces that have shaped Borussia Mönchengladbach in recent years, and we would like to thank him for that,” said Virkus, opening the door for further collaboration. “We will keep all options open for him at the club and would be very happy if he sees his future at Borussia. We will stay in touch and wish Chris all the best for his future, no matter where his path takes him.”
