Goal: Andrich falls out of favor with national team and club, Frankfurt and Leipzig inquire

According to Goal, just two years ago Robert Andrich caught the attention of German fans: at the home European Championship, he unexpectedly started every match for Julian Nagelsmann's Germany team. His pink hair stood out, while his physicality in duels was equally noticeable. He provided cover for midfield organizers such as Toni Kroos and Ilkay Gundogan until Germany suffered a dramatic quarter-final defeat against eventual champions Spain.

Since then, Andrich has no longer been favored in the national team, and Nagelsmann did not take him to this summer's World Cup. At club level, his situation also became increasingly difficult: after a disappointing season and a sixth-place finish that meant missing out on the Champions League, Xabi Alonso's successor Carles Martinez took over Leverkusen, and the Spaniard quickly indicated that he did not intend to rely heavily on Andrich.

In mid-August, he took the captain's armband away from Andrich and gave it to Edmond Tapsoba. Martinez said: "For now, he is more of a secondary figure in this midfield position." He later added: "At least he now knows what he has to think about. This way he can prepare for what could be the best outcome for both him and us." In the coach's view, the best result for all sides at that moment seemed obvious: parting ways.

Andrich's situation was reminiscent of Leon Goretzka at Bayern Munich. In the summer of 2024, Vincent Kompany and Bayern's management also only offered him the prospect of a place on the bench and tried to push him toward leaving.

After Andrich was stripped of the captaincy, his wife Alicia intervened for the first time. She was obviously aware that her husband had been demoted and posted a short Spanish phrase that coaches such as Carles Martinez could easily understand: "Karma will take care of everything." She later denied on social media that the phrase was aimed at this incident, but that only caused the situation to attract more attention.

Robert Andrich clearly did not want to accept his new secondary role, and his wife likely felt the same. As a result, Bundesliga clubs such as Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig reportedly saw an opportunity and began making inquiries about the 31-year-old player. However, before last weekend, the move had not become concrete, and Carles Martinez's press conference ahead of Leverkusen's Bundesliga opener away against Elversberg became a new talking point.

When asked whether he had already spoken with Andrich about his role this season, he answered in imperfect English: "To be honest, I didn't talk with him." With a substitute role already apparent and no direct contact with the head coach, everything until Friday appeared to signal that Andrich was heading toward a quick departure.

Leverkusen then began their Bundesliga opening match away against Elversberg, falling 2-0 behind in less than 10 minutes and eventually losing 3-2. Soon afterward, Alicia Andrich intervened for a second time: she liked a post by Kicker titled "Petkov makes history: Elversberg's first Bundesliga goal" and removed the like several hours later. Andrich stayed on the bench for all 90 minutes without playing, while Leverkusen struggled in a difficult match against the promoted side — something that apparently briefly pleased his wife.

It remains unclear why Leverkusen's hierarchy suddenly changed its decision on Andrich's future, or whether the disappointing defeat was the direct cause, but it could have been one of the reasons. In addition, Leverkusen's midfield cover was weakened by Palacios joining newly promoted Premier League side Ipswich Town. Kenneth Eichhorn was unavailable due to a long-term injury, and Ezequiel Fernandez was unable to continue his impressive pre-season form at Elversberg, making Robert Andrich important again. After the defeat, Martinez said: "He is here. He is a leader of our team." Suddenly, "leader" sounded very different from "secondary role."

However, the coach also explained that his earlier statement about not speaking with Andrich had been inaccurate: "Yes, I said I didn't talk with Robert. More accurately, I should have said that I haven't spoken with him again since Palacios left." He clarified this on Saturday. After this verbal reversal, Kicker reported on Monday that following the dramatic turnaround, Robert Andrich would not leave the club and would remain at Leverkusen.

Whether Alicia Andrich's earlier mention of so-called "karma" truly contributed to this change in attitude remains unknown. In football, many things can change instantly — and Robert Andrich may soon prove that once again. By comparison, Goretzka also returned to prominence after spending several months on Bayern's bench in late autumn 2024. Last season, he suddenly became a Bayern regular again before joining Aston Villa — two years later, he had also, like Robert Andrich now, been verbally pushed toward the exit.