Eintracht Frankfurt is fighting for the whereabouts of board spokesman Axel Hellmann. According to Hans-Joachim Watzke, he could still be working for the DFL after June 30th.
Both currently working for the DFL: Hans-Joachim Watzke (left) and Axel Hellmann.
IMAGO/Hartenfelser
Will Axel Hellmann remain interim managing director of the DFL longer than planned? The DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke now hinted at this – and should not have made any friends at Eintracht Frankfurt.
“I appreciate Axel Hellmann very much, but I have to respect that he has a contract with Eintracht until 2027, and I haven’t talked to him about the future either. That will definitely happen,” Watzke told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “But we have a clear understanding that his interim work at the DFL will not end on June 30th if the investor process is not completed by then.”
In a club announcement from Eintracht, it had sounded different a few days ago. Accordingly, Hellmann’s appointment as one of two DFL interim managing directors “in an emergency situation in the league” was approved, with this commitment “until June 30, 2023”.
Watzke does not rule out investors’ decision by summer
It is uncertain how long the investor process will continue. Does a conclusion by summer really seem realistic? “We’ll wait and see,” said Watzke. “But what is certain is that we are already well over 50 percent of the way behind us.” The DFL wants to cede shares to an investor and thereby generate billions in income.
Hellmann took over at the top of the DFL last December together with Oliver Leki, the SC Freiburg board member, after the DFL parted ways with Donata Hopfen. Both were then considered possible long-term solutions – but Leki has already decided to stay in Freiburg. Hellmann’s future is still open. Eintracht is fighting for the 51-year-old, who is under contract until 2027. In addition, SGE supervisory board chairman Philip Holzer even offered his resignation, which Hellmann rejected. There had been tensions between the two recently.
What other options does the DFL have? “As always in professional life, it would be bad if there was only one candidate,” said Watzke. However, he did not give any specific names.
