Feyenoord player wanted to leave himself despite limited playing time: 'He also had a long injury'

Leo Sauer personally submitted a transfer request, Feyenoord technical director Dévy Rigaux told Feyenoord ONE. The Slovak winger left this summer for around €15 million to VfB Stuttgart.

Feyenoord parted company with no fewer than 18 players during this transfer window. "That is an incredibly high number," Rigaux said. "In my view, that is something I would not want to go through again."

For the Belgian, that volume of departures came at the expense of the team's stability. "But it had to happen. It was not something I could think about, it was simply a must."

Still, Rigaux secured permanent moves for many of those players and was pleased with that. It means he will not have to find solutions for them again next summer.

Among those who left permanently was Sauer. "Leo had been at Feyenoord for a very long time and he came to me at the start of the season and explained to me that he would really like to take a step this summer after all."

Last season, the 38-year-old executive said, the winger also suffered a long injury and did not play very much in the second half of the season.

With various clubs from the top five leagues in the mix at that point, Feyenoord were able to negotiate well for that amount. "Because at that moment we were dealing with various clubs from the top five leagues, and we were able to negotiate well for that amount, we then decided that we were willing to grant his wish to leave at the right price," Rigaux concludes.