Thank you, Ralf Rangnick!

Ralf Rangnick began his tenure as sporting director of RB Leipzig on 24th June 2012. Ten days later, he was officially unveiled at the Red Bull Arena.

It marked the start of a successful partnership, one that saw the club rise from the fourth division all the way to the Champions League.

Thank you, Ralf!

A fitting send off

Exactly 3,885 days later (or 10 years and nearly 8 months) later, Ralf Rangnick will return to the Red Bull Arena to say his goodbyes.

The first leg of our Champions League round of 16 clash at home against Manchester City provided the perfect backdrop to say thank you to Ralf for everything that he did during his eight years at our club. A sold-out match on the biggest stage in European football provided a fitting background for the fans to say farewell.

Ralf played a key role in the swift and successful development of RB Leipzig. He laid the groundwork for a successful foundation and implemented guiding principles both on and off the pitch, for both the first team and our academy. His philosophy and style of play was always clear to see.

3 promotions, 2 stints as head coach, 1 cup final

Ralf Rangnick signed talented players such as Dominik Kaiser, Joshua Kimmich, Marcel Sabitzer, Naby Keita, Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konaté.

In Yussuf Poulsen, Emil Forsberg, Marcel Halstenberg, Lukas Klostermann, Péter Gulácsi, Konrad Laimer, Timo Werner, Kevin Kampl and Amadou Haidara, we have nine players who are currently still at the club who were brought in under his tenure.

Thank you, Ralf!

In 2012, Leipzig were playing against clubs like Rathenow, Auerbach and Meuselwitz in the fourth division before finally winning promotion to the 3. Liga at the third attempt in a series of legendary promotion fixtures against Lotte. The following season, the team won promotion to Bundesliga 2 with a 5-1 win over Saarbrücken.

In addition to his role as sporting director, the 64-year-old also stepped into a role as head coach on two occasions. While occupying both roles in the 2015/16 season, Rangnick managed to guide the team to the Bundesliga – just four years after his arrival in Leipzig, we were now playing against the likes of Bayern, Dortmund and Leverkusen!

Back in his role as sporting director the following season, Rangnick oversaw another historic moment for RBL. The club finished runners-up in their maiden top flight campaign, qualifying for the Champions League for the first time.

In 2018/19, in his second stint as head coach, Rangnick helped Leipzig qualify for the Champions League for the second time while also guiding them to the DFB-Pokal final in Berlin for the first time.

After a 3-0 defeat in the final against FC Bayern München, Rangnick took up a role as head of sport and development soccer at Red Bull, as of 1st July 2019. He remained in this position for a year, and was responsible as a consultant. In summer 2020, he left to pursue other interests. In April 2022, he took up a position as head coach of the Austria national team.

Dear Ralf, thank you for an unforgettable time at our club!

Your hard work, passion and ambition built RB Leipzig into the successful club it is today, and contributed to a lasting legacy at the club. Our history, our philosophy and our success will forever be linked with your name.

Once a Bull, always a Bull.

Best wishes to you and your family and we wish you continued success in all your future endeavours.