Christian Eriksen Leaves Wolfsburg After Second On-Pitch Collapse - Tempo.co English

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Christian Eriksen and VfL Wolfsburg have agreed to terminate the Danish midfielder’s contract by mutual consent, bringing his time at the German club to an early end following his on-pitch collapse in June.

According to The Guardian, the 34-year-old collapsed during Denmark’s friendly against Ukraine in June. He later returned to his homeland to undergo a rehabilitation program and said in July that being close to his family in Denmark was important to him.

Eriksen previously suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 group-stage match against Finland in Copenhagen in 2021.

Eriksen’s contract with Wolfsburg was originally scheduled to run until June 2027. He joined the club as a free agent a year ago and made 34 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals and providing 10 assists.

However, he was unable to prevent Wolfsburg from being relegated from the Bundesliga.

His final appearance for the club came in May, when Wolfsburg lost to Paderborn in the promotion-relegation playoff.

Wolfsburg managing director of sport Dieter Hecking said the second-tier club agreed to Eriksen’s request to terminate the contract.

“He has already experienced and achieved a great deal during his extraordinary career,” Hecking said. “Despite his short time here, he has left a lasting impression on his teammates, our staff and the fans.”

Eriksen said he was pleased that he and Wolfsburg had reached an agreement over his future.

“At the moment, it is important for me to be close to my family in Denmark. I’m pleased that we were able to find a solution together,” Eriksen said.

Reflecting on his time at Wolfsburg, he added that it had been marked by “many highs and lows.”

“I know that the club is now in good hands as it aims to make its way back to the Bundesliga, and I am convinced that a successful future lies ahead for VfL,” he said.

Eriksen’s latest health scare came five years after he suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s Euro 2020 match against Finland.

He was subsequently fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), a device designed to monitor the heart and deliver an electrical shock when necessary.

The device meant Eriksen had to leave Inter Milan because Serie A regulations prohibit players from competing with a pacemaker or similar implanted cardiac device.

He returned to professional football with Brentford in 2022 before spending three years at Manchester United and joining Wolfsburg last summer.

Following his second on-pitch collapse in June, Eriksen said his ICD had worked as designed.

“Receiving a shock from my ICD has had a major impact on both me and my family, but I want to reassure everyone that this was a different situation from what happened in 2021,” Eriksen said in a social media post.

“I am feeling good, and my recovery has already started. I am incredibly grateful to the doctors who have cared for me and my heart over the years. Thanks to their expertise, my ICD did exactly what it was designed to do: protect me when I needed it.”

With his Wolfsburg contract now terminated, Eriksen’s next step in his football career remains uncertain as he continues his recovery in Denmark.