Our number 4 is staying!
Willi Orban (30) has agreed to extend his contract by a further two years, making it now valid until 2027!
Our captain, who joined in summer 2015, will now stay here for 12 seasons.
Sporting director Rouven Schröder
- “Willi Orban is an incredible player and character. As a club and a team, we can only be proud to have him here. He has been at the club since 2015 and has massively developed together with RB Leipzig during that time, as both a player and a person.
Willi is a model professional and a top athlete. He’s capable of dealing with challenges and always finds new ways of improving himself. He’s a real role model too, particularly for our younger players. He’s our captain and a real fan favourite. That’s why it was incredibly important for us to extend his contract and we’re delighted that we’ll be spending the next few years together!”
Captain Willi Orban
- “The conversations with the club were positive and we quickly agreed that I would stay for another two years. It’s a great fit for me and I’m really pleased that my journey here will continue. We’ve had a really successful time together so far; winning three titles as we have written history. We’ve still got a lot to aim for and there is still some space in my trophy cabinet at home. Here at RB Leipzig, we all have the dream of winning the Bundesliga and I believe we can achieve this – that’s one reason I have extended my contract.
I feel right at home in Leipzig after eight years here. It’s a great city with amazing people and fans. Playing for RB Leipzig is unique because of what we can achieve here together. The infrastructure is fantastic, we have great support staff, a fantastic coach and a super team. Coming here every day is really enjoyable.”
Willi Orban at RB Leipzig
Willi Orban transferred to RB Leipzig from 1. FC Kaiserslautern in June 2015 and instantly became a key player for our Bundesliga 2 side. Willi helped the team to get promoted at the end of that season and quickly evolved into a dressing-room leader. He became club captain for three years in 2017/18 and was given the role again at the start of this season.
The 30-year-old is, alongside Daniel Frahn, the only RBL player to captain the side in fourseasons.
Alongside his seven Bundesliga seasons with Leipzig, Orban has played in six Champions League campaigns, reaching the semi-finals of Europe’s premier club competition in 2019/20.
Our number 4 finally won his first two major titles with RB Leipzig following two losses in the 2019 and 2021 finals when the club won the DFB-Pokal in 2022 and 2023. In the 2022 final, he scored the penalty that made it 3-2 in the shootout, and this year he led the team as captain to another victory, standing in for the injured PeterGulacsi. A win in the Supercup this summer followed soon after.
Willi also became a national team player during his time at Leipzig, making his Hungary debut on 12th October 2018. He has gone on to make 42 appearances since then and took part in EURO 2020.
8 years in pictures
Statistics
- Games: 292
- Goals: 27
- Assists: 9
- Yellow cards: 44
- Red cards: 3
- Willi Orban has played the third-most games for RBL after Yussuf Poulsen (368) and Emil Forsberg (312).
- He has scored the ninth-most goals in club history and is the most prolific defender for RBL.
- Excluding the Supercup, Orban has scored in every competition he has played in for RBL.
Honours
- Bundesliga promotion in 2016
- DFB-Pokal winner in 2022, 2023
- Supercup winner in 2023
Profile
- Name: Willi Thomas Orban
- Date of birth: 3rd November 1992 in Kaiserlautern
- Age: 30
- Nationality: Hungarian/German
- Preferred foot: Right
- Height: 1,86m
- Position: Centre-back
- Shirt number: 4
- At RBL since: 1st July 2015