Just one day after resignation
Max Kruse finds a new task
December 21, 2023, 8:30 p.m
Max Kruse was a brilliant and polarizing footballer. On Wednesday, the 35-year-old will say goodbye to professional football for good. But he doesn’t take the time to reorient himself. Less than 24 hours later it is clear which project he will tackle next.
Just one day after retiring from professional football, Max Kruse announced his next project. The former national player joins the new Baller League as team manager. “After my career, I will take part in projects that I enjoy and that I can identify with. The concept of the Baller League immediately grabbed me,” said Kruse.
Twelve teams, each managed by well-known personalities, will compete against each other on Mondays from January 8th at Motorworld in Cologne. The winner will be crowned after eleven match days at the “Final Four” on March 23rd, 2024. Innovative rules are intended to guarantee speed and excitement. Mats Hummels and Lukas Podolski act as league presidents, plus stars from sports, TV, music and streaming. The Swiss national player and influencer Alisha Lehmann and Kevin Prince Boateng have already confirmed their participation.
In advance, the prominent team managers will nominate the final squad at the “Draft” on January 5, 2024. In addition to the team captains, who include athletes or well-known Twitch streamers, the teams also consist of semi-professionals, talented amateurs and other guest stars. The game is played six-on-six on a small indoor pitch. The league, which is said to be nothing less than “shaping a new era of football”, will be streamed live for free on Twitch, and the top game will also be broadcast on ProSieben Maxx on linear television.
Kruse finally said goodbye to competitive sports on Wednesday. He played over 350 first and second division games for SC Paderborn, VfL Wolfsburg, Union Berlin, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Werder Bremen, SC Freiburg and FC St. Pauli. He also played for Germany at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. During the games he proposed to his girlfriend in front of the cameras.