With 28 players already gone and a reckless bet as the symbol, Fortuna Düsseldorf is heading for an unprecedented disaster

Seventeen players are currently under contract at Fortuna; the deals of the others expire this summer, or their loan spells—including those of the injured playmaker Florent Muslija (from SC Freiburg) and Sotiris Alexandropoulos (Benfica Lisbon)—are set to end.

Beyond 2026, only two players signed under the previous sporting directors Klaus Allofs and Christian Weber would stay if Fortuna were to be relegated: vice-captain Tim Oberdorf and first-team regular Sima Suso.

Unlike Mislintat, who insisted that his winter signings—Satoshi Tanaka, Kilian Sauck and Jordi Paulina—stay committed even if the club is relegated, Allofs and Weber failed to include such provisions for the summer recruits. 

The club’s expensive signings—Cedric Itten (£1.3m), Anouar El Azzouzi (£1.3m) and Christian Rasmussen (£900k)—risk becoming financial white elephants. Only Itten has justified his fee with 13 goals; Rasmussen, signed from Ajax, has squandered chances and struggled with injuries and mood swings, while El Azzouzi, though committed, has been accused of tactical indiscipline and poor efficiency on the ball.

In hindsight, Fortuna’s summer transfer window under the leadership of Allofs and Weber was a disaster. Either the newly signed players who were firmly in the plans were constantly sidelined—and, given their worrying injury histories, in some cases this was even predictable (e.g. Christopher Lenz, Julian Hettwer, Luca Raimund)—or they failed completely to prove their suitability for the second division right up to the end (Tim Breithaupt, Zan Celar, Jesper Daland).

After the club’s amicable split with Allofs last December, he admitted on Welt TV: “I naturally bear my share of the responsibility from a sporting perspective. We had a very poor transfer window.”

Allofs had already caused consternation among Fortuna fans with some of his public appearances during the season. After Düsseldorf’s slow start forced the club to abandon its promotion hopes, Allofs claimed he had never mentioned such targets before the campaign and even accused the regional media, which had quoted him as doing so, of spreading falsehoods. Yet numerous quotes from July and August contradicted his stance.

Tensions flared again at the club’s general meeting when a bet between Allofs and a supporter was disclosed: the fan wagered that long-term injury victim Lenz would not manage five 60-minute appearances that season. At the AGM, Allofs had boasted, “I’m certain I’ll win the bet.”

Background: Although Lenz had previously won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt, he had managed only ten appearances since 2023, when recurring calf injuries curtailed his moves to RB Leipzig and then TSG Hoffenheim.

Allofs had ignored Lenz’s medical record and instead relied on a one-off medical check to confirm his fitness—a decision that backfired spectacularly. Lenz was sidelined for almost three months after just two brief appearances at the start of the season; his return was brief, and he has played in only two of the last seven matches. With four matches remaining, Allofs is in real danger of losing the bet: Lenz has clocked more than 60 minutes in only three appearances for Fortuna. It is a stark symbol of the club’s troubled squad planning under Allofs and Weber.

Allofs is currently without a club after his dismissal, while Weber—to the surprise of Düsseldorf supporters—has actually advanced his career. He was also relieved of his duties as Fortuna’s sporting director when Mislintat arrived, yet he is now poised to oversee squad planning at a Bundesliga side. Since mid-April he has been serving in the same capacity at SV Elversberg, which is once again challenging for promotion.

The twist? On Matchday 33, Weber will return to Düsseldorf with Elversberg. With Fortuna facing a gruelling run-in and another injury crisis—six potential starters are currently sidelined—that visit could come too late for any remaining hopes of survival.

First, Fortuna host in-form Dresden on Friday, then travel to Schalke, who could seal promotion that weekend. Should they still be clinging to safety, Fortuna will then face a potential relegation decider against Greuther Fürth on Matchday 34. By that point, the club’s professional future could hinge on avoiding an exodus of key players.