Leeds United exit 'wanted to quit football' last year - he'll be playing Champions League next season
The Danish defender twice triggered a relegation clause to leave Leeds United on loan.
Former Leeds United defender Rasmus Kristensen admits he wanted to quit professional football before finding a new home at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Kristensen joined Frankfurt on loan for the season last summer after deciding to trigger a relegation release clause in his Leeds contract for the second time. The 27-year-old struggled at AS Roma during the 2023/24 campaign but has flourished in a wing-back role under impressive coach Dino Toppmöller, registering five goals and three assists in 30 league games.
A goal and assist during Saturday’s 3-1 win at SC Freiburg was enough to secure Champions League football for Eintracht and the Danish international will be part of that, with Leeds confirming last month his loan will be made permanent for a fee of up to £7.7million. Kristensen’s sole campaign in West Yorkshire ended in relegation while at Roma, he was regularly left out of the team.
But victory for Eintracht on Saturday secured their spot in next season’s flagship European competition, sparking wild celebrations inside the Europa-Park Stadion and on the coach journey back home. A social media post from the club showed Kristensen and his teammates ‘taking over’ a petrol station, drinking beers and enjoying their achievement.
It’s been a big turnaround for Kristensen, who struggled with the pace and quality of Premier League football at Leeds before twice deciding to leave on loan. And in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s win in Freiburg, the Whites loanee revealed just how low he felt.
Rasmus Kristensen was ‘fed up’ during previous Leeds United loan exit
"This is one of the greatest moments for me,” Kristensen said, as quoted by local newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau, following Saturday’s season-defining victory. “It's been a long journey to this success. Last season, I wanted to quit football completely. I was fed up."
Kristensen’s form in Frankfurt looks to have benefitted all interested parties, with Leeds receiving what they believe is a decent fee for the defender while also getting a significant wage packed of their books. Eintracht, meanwhile, have greatly benefitted from the full-back’s presence in their squad, which will continue into next season.
"The first compliment for this transfer goes to Markus Krösche,” Eintracht boss Toppmöller said of the decision to sign Kristensen. “He spoke with him during the European Championship. We also had a good phone call. Rasmus had actually had similar thoughts.
"He didn't want to score another goal either, because we hadn't won twice. But today it was enough. He's a player you always want to have on the pitch as a coach. But he's also very demanding off the pitch.”
As things stand, Kristensen will be playing Champions League football alongside Robin Koch next season but the latter could well be on the move this summer. Reports over the weekend claimed Bayer Leverkusen, who finished second in the Bundesliga and nine points ahead of Eintracht, could look to activate the centre-back’s £16.8m release clause amid growing interest.
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