Austrian Bundesliga: No change: Freund remains sports director in Salzburg
Austria’s soccer series champions FC Red Bull Salzburg prevailed against Chelsea in the struggle for sports director Christoph Freund.
As the club announced, the 45-year-old will stay with the cup winners and Bundesliga leaders. “Christoph Freund is and will remain sporting director of FC Red Bull Salzburg, there is no move to Chelsea,” the club’s website said. It was recently announced that Freund was being courted by the Londoners.
“Christoph Freund has been doing excellent work for us for many years and only recently extended his contract until 2026. I can hereby confirm that he will remain sporting director of FC Red Bull Salzburg,” said Managing Director Stephan Reiter, adding: “Of course he informed me about Chelsea FC’s interest in him and we exchanged ideas on a personal level and in good conversations.”
When such a large club asks, there are also personal considerations, said Freund. “But I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m in the best of hands with FC Red Bull Salzburg and that a change is out of the question for me,” emphasized the Austrian.
The former Salzburg player succeeded Ralf Rangnick as sports director for the 2015/16 season. Since then, Salzburg has won seven of its 16 national championship titles and won six cups. In the Champions League, the club is group opponents of Chelsea FC and most recently drew 1-1 in London.