Christ Nmecha splits the club: BVB buys the big trouble for 30 million euros

Felix Nmecha is set to replace Jude Bellingham at Borussia Dortmund. But the fans of Borussia – and not only them – are against the transfer of the national player. The commitment of the 22-year-old causes great outrage. Because he is a Christian and takes radical positions.

When the transfer was finally through, Felix Nmecha spoke sentences that were reminiscent of other sentences. “I love everyone,” said the new Dortmunder in his first interview as a player in the record runners-up. He asked for a chance to get to know him. Circumstances had forced him to do so. All he wanted was to change clubs. From the tranquil Mittelland Canal in Wolfsburg to the ever-excited BVB in the Ruhr area. But the 30 million euro transfer, the possible successor to Jude Bellingham, had caused a great deal of unrest in recent weeks, even calling the silent president of Borussia into action.

BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke was also there. “He’s a completely normal boy, a normal young footballer,” said the managing director of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” before the transfer was completed. Which in itself is unusual, because you rarely talk about players from other clubs. Even if there had already been a crisis or get-to-know summit. The club’s management, consisting of Watzke and President Reinhard Lunow, had previously met with him to see whether the club’s future player was viable at all. He was. Lunow, who previously met with representatives of the queer fan club “Rainbow Borussia” and other representatives, now expressed this opinion internally.

When Nmecha was finally committed after grueling weeks, the President finally spoke up in public. Reinhold Lunow has been at the head of the registered association since the end of 2022 and has not yet made any major statements. Everything was different now.

Absolutely or necessarily homophobic and anti-queer?

“Felix Nmecha’s commitment has led to controversial discussions because he had shared content that could certainly be interpreted as homophobic or anti-queer. That’s why I initially had great concerns as to whether he shared the values ​​of our Borussia,” tweeted the 69-year-old into the rising tide of general outrage. Lunow was also torn apart because, according to the protesters, Nmecha had not “shared content that absolutely can be interpreted as homophobic or anti-queer”, but the inevitably must be interpreted as homophobic and anti-queer. A striking difference.

What sparked the debate? Born in Hamburg, Felix Nmecha is a strictly religious evangelical Christian, an influential religion in the USA with arch-conservative attitudes. Nmecha doesn’t want to hide that at all. That doesn’t differentiate him from numerous other Bundesliga professionals, who keep thanking Jesus on social media, who want to quote the Bible and draw their strength from it. “I don’t play football for other people, but for God. That’s why I don’t feel any pressure. I want to work hard and do it as well as possible, I leave the rest to God,” Nmecha told ran.de in March 2022. At that time he was about to make his debut in the U21 national team. His ascent continued, God, if you will, meant well for him and then tempted him after all.

In February, he shared a video of US right-wing populist Matt Walsh, who repeatedly flaunts his transphobia and rejection of LGBTQ rights and describes himself on Twitter as a “theocratic fascist”. And with the start of the Pride month of June, he shared a video from an account called “Reformedbychrist”. In the post, the term “Pride” was associated with the devil.

Postings against BVB core values

For the fans of BVB, and not only them, a line was crossed. It didn’t matter that Nmecha deleted his posts again. Because the Internet documents and never forgets. Through the postings, he at least violated the basic code of BVB values ​​and was therefore unacceptable. “We will always work for social success. By this we mean club life and a society without racism, anti-Semitism, LGBTI+ hostility, sexism, violence and discrimination. (…)”, it says there.

The debate escalated, even if the player rejected the allegations in April and again later. He loves everyone, he wrote on social media and told the editorial network Germany that he regretted sharing Walsh’s post. Also and “above all” because he does not know whether he is even a Christian. BVB continued to work on the transfer and then it flew in their faces. It was of no use that they wanted to give him a chance by referring to the personal interview.

Fans threaten to leave

“Plenty, if not all, of the people who defend this transfer have other views that can become dangerous,” wrote the schwatzgelb.de fanzine, arguing: “You give those who want to understand it the possibility of interpreting that a big club like Borussia Dortmund was only subject to the Woke obligation, but is now slowly coming to ‘reason’.” These are words that impressively demonstrate the at least digital division within the association. They are also words that show the inner turmoil of a society that is slowly giving up the middle.

It remains to be seen how much of the furor from the forums and social media will be transported to real reality. The fan scene in Dortmund is, that much is clear, divided. There are those who scream their displeasure at the world, threaten to leave the club and there are those who, faced with anger, hardly dare to formulate their own positions. What is happening in Dortmund is thus another example of the drifting apart of the various realities and truths. The middle is crushed. She cannot contribute to a dialogue without being eaten up by the more extreme viewpoints of both sides.

Borussia Dortmund bought these social implications with Felix Nmecha. The public, who in Wolfsburg largely didn’t care what the 22-year-old thought and played out on social media, has a critical eye on him. The sporting task for Nmecha is already a monumental one.

It should only be a normal transfer

The national player is to replace Jude Bellingham, who ended up moving to Real Madrid for around 130 million euros. The problem: the Englishman is a “generational talent”, i.e. one that is extremely rare. The now 20-year-old, in the absence of other leaders, was the head of the team, orchestrating play on the pitch, beating up opponents by the dozen, scoring important goals and being a fan favourite.

Nmecha wants to be that too. At least he is optimistic about the future. “Playing in this stadium, in front of these great fans, the feeling of being a Dortmund player – I’m thrilled and can’t wait,” he said on Dortmund’s club TV: “I try a lot with and without the ball to do for the team, I try to always play with confidence. I always want to have the ball and create, I want to fight for the team.” That will not be enough, also because he did not apologize for his positions. He will also have to fight for and with himself. In terms of sport, he would have to open his own league to take all those who are now turning away from him and maybe even their club.

For the runner-up, who fell from the top of the table on the last matchday of last season, the transfer contains several traps. They are convinced of Nmecha at Borsigplatz. BVB’s scouting department has observed the former Wolfsburg player at work in the stadium around a dozen times, plus countless hours of video study. It should have just been a normal transfer. But it did not get to that. BVB bought even more trouble for a lot of money and put themselves under a lot of pressure.