Timo Werner has returned to RB Leipzig in a £25 million transfer from Chelsea after two seasons at Stamford Bridge.
Werner arrived at Stamford Bridge in June 2020 for £47.5m after Chelsea activated his release clause but struggled to adapt to English football, as he scored 23 goals in 89 appearances across all competitions in which Chelsea won 2020-21 UEFA Champions League title.
The 26 year-old German also reached two FA Cup Finals with Chelsea which both ended in defeat to Leicester and Liverpool in 2021 and 2022 respectively, which ultimately saw the Blues become the first team in history to lose three consecutive FA Cup Finals – having also lost in 2020 too.
In a statement confirming Werner’s departure, Chelsea said: “All at Chelsea thank Timo for his contribution to our success over the past two years and wish him well for his future career.”
Werner has signed a four-year contract with RB Leipzig until June 2026 as he returns to the club where he scored 95 goals in 159 appearances, with the Germany international forward set to wear the number 11 shirt.
Speaking about his decision to return to RB Leipzig rather than seek a new challenge, Werner said that he is “very happy” to reunite with his former club as he reflected on his original departure:
“It was a dignified departure for me to leave the club as record goalscorer, but that’s in the past now and I’m looking ahead, because both I and the club have developed in the past two years.”
Werner also spoke about his time at Chelsea as he added: “I had two great years at Chelsea that I’m really grateful for and were crowned with the Champions League trophy. The experience to play abroad in a new league really helped me and my career.”
Werner could make his second debut for RB Leipzig at home on Saturday 13 August against Cologne in Bundesliga, with the German excited to be “meeting the Leipzig fans again, who mean a great deal to me.”
On his new ambitions with RB Leipzig, Werner said that he wishes “to achieve a lot and of course, I want to become the first Leipzig player to reach the 100-goal mark.”
RB Leipzig’s Commercial Director of Sport, Florian Scholz meanwhile described the opportunity to bring Werner back as “a special transfer”, having paid an initial £16.9m transfer fee with add-ons set to take the overall fee to £25m.
Explaining why the club decided to reunite with Werner, Scholz added: “His return means a lot to the supporters because Timo was a real fan favourite and figure of identification for a lot of people.
“The transfer made a lot of sense to us, both because of Timo’s quality and the financial aspects of the deal.
“Now we want to build on the success that we started together and achieve our goals with Timo’s help. Not only does that mean qualification to the Champions League, but we also want to get as far as possible in the cup competitions.”
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