Freiburg’s Record Finances and Olise’s Form Headline Bundesliga’s Return From the International Break
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SC Freiburg reported a surplus of 30.5 million euros and record revenue of 212.1 million euros for the 2025/26 season at Thursday’s members’ meeting, up 18.7 million euros on the previous year, finance director Oliver Leki announced in front of 950 attendees, according to kicker. The club finished seventh in the Bundesliga but reached the Europa League final, losing 3-0 to Aston Villa, and the DFB-Pokal semi-final, falling 2-1 after extra time to VfB Stuttgart.
Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise was named the Bundesliga’s official Player of the Month for September after being directly involved in four goals, including his first Bundesliga hat-trick in a 7-0 win over 1. FC Union Berlin, according to Bundesliga.com. Olise finished September level with Mainz’s Sheraldo Becker for the most goal contributions in the league, with kicker highlighting his form as the benchmark heading into Bayern’s clash with Augsburg this weekend.
Transfer and squad notes
Borussia Monchengladbach will lose Reuter as their main shirt sponsor at the end of the 2026/27 season, with the bathroom and sanitary products company stepping back into a co-sponsor role after three seasons as title sponsor, the club announced in a statement reported by kicker. The news lands as Gladbach sit bottom of the table without a point after four matches, having sacked Eugen Polanski and appointed Alexander Blessin as head coach during the international break ahead of Sunday’s derby against 1. FC Koln.
VfB Stuttgart defender Luca Jaquez has returned to full team training after a serious muscle injury suffered at the World Cup that also ruled him out of Switzerland’s quarter-final exit to Argentina, coach Sebastian Hoenes said ahead of Stuttgart’s first match back from the break, according to kicker. The 23-year-old, signed from Lucerne in February 2025 and has made 32 appearances for the club, could soon be available for competitive action again.
Hoffenheim are managing fitness concerns around three key players after a difficult start that has brought one league win in four matches and a 2-0 Conference League defeat at OFI Crete, kicker reported. Forward Andrej Kramaric has yet to start a Bundesliga match this season and got no minutes in four games for Croatia, while defenders Albian Hajdari and Vladimir Coufal both dealt with knee issues during the break, with Coufal returning to start — and scoring an own goal — in Czechia’s 3-0 loss to England.
What it means for the league
Freiburg’s financial results show a mid-table club can still post record numbers through smart European runs rather than wage inflation, a model other clubs outside the traditional top group will watch closely. Gladbach’s sponsor exit adds a commercial headache to what is already a sporting crisis under a new coach, making Sunday’s derby an early test of whether Blessin can arrest the slide. Elsewhere, the mixed injury news for Stuttgart and Hoffenheim reflects how unevenly the extended international break has hit squads, with some clubs gaining players back just as others lose confidence or fitness in key contributors.