On Sunday, Stuttgart shoot the BVB full. Gregor Kobel has to fish the ball out of the goal five times. Three days later, "Bild.de" publishes the actually secret salaries of the VfB stars. Including those of Fabian Rieder and Leonidas Stergiou.
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- Almost relegated in 2023, Stuttgart are now playing in the Champions League and will also be at the top of the Bundesliga in the still young 2024/25 season.
- Three days after the 5:1 gala win against Dortmund, "Bild.de" has now published the secret salaries of the VfB stars. According to the report, Fabian Rieder and Leonidas Stergiou earn much more than was previously known.
- Stergiou, who is currently injured, showed how valuable he is to the team last season. New signing Rieder
Last season, Stuttgart sensationally finished as runners-up, after VfB had fought against relegation until the very end in the previous season. VfB saved itself in extremis by reaching the relegation play-offs, where it ultimately beat HSV with aplomb.
A year and a half later, Stuttgart is a Champions League participant instead of a cellar dweller. This fills the club's coffers and, unsurprisingly, also has an impact on salaries.
Before the season, "capology" calculated the salaries of all Bundesliga players and posted them online. According to these calculations, the 533 squad players of the 18 Bundesliga clubs had a salary volume of 919 million euros. According to these figures, the average salary in the top German league amounted to 1.73 million euros per year. Due to some summer transfers, there have been some adjustments to the total, but not for the players who were already there.
However, the salaries published by "Bild.de" for Stuttgart are now significantly higher. According to the report, national team player Fabian Rieder earns "slightly less" than 2 million euros. According to "capology" it is 1.1 million. The 22-year-old has already shown that he is well worth his money.
So far, the Rennes loanee has appeared in six games, scoring one goal and setting up two in the league. After the Gladbach game, the only one so far in which he has been in the starting eleven, he shone with two assists and was celebrated by fans and teammates alike afterwards.
Teammate Ermedin Demirovc benefited from Rieder's assists in his two goals against the Foals. Commenting on the first goal (video below), he said: "That was Gareth Bale 2.0. I didn't even know he was that fast." And on the second: "The goal is 80 percent his, I don't do much more as a striker."
Stergiou earns around 1.5 million euros per year
The difference is even starker for Leonidas Stergiou, who is currently injured. According to "Bild.de", his salary is around 1.5 million euros per season, whereas according to "capology" it is just 190,000 euros. The 22-year-old earned himself a regular place in the second half of last season and was rewarded by Murat Yakin with a call-up for the European Championship. The defender was then substituted in three out of five games at the finals. This season, however, he has missed all previous games due to back problems.
Stuttgart's top earners are the two German internationals Deniz Undav and Chris Führich. According to "Bild.de", both are estimated to earn just over four million euros a year. The two portals' salary figures for Undav (€3.78 million according to "capology") are more or less the same, but the figures for Führich are far apart. According to the German tabloid, he earns a good million and a half more.
Kobel earns more than twice as much as Rieder and Stergiou combined
Ultimately, only the salary earners themselves know where the truth lies - but they will be wary of talking about it publicly. However, the salaries reported by "Bild" are probably closer to reality. One thing is clear: Rieder and Stergiou don't have to worry financially either way.
Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, who conceded five goals against Stuttgart, earns around 9 million euros per season. The 26-year-old is by far the highest-earning Swiss player in the Bundesliga. He earns his salary with consistently strong performances, even in the 1:5 against Stuttgart he was Dortmund's best and prevented even worse with a few saves. Prior to that, he had witched BVB to victory away against Brugge in the Champions League and was once again showered with praise.
