At the age of 29, Amin Younes is in the best footballing age, has played eight times for the national team and is without a club after his contract termination in Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday (07/27/2023). Actually, the next, maybe last, big contract should now be pending for him. But even after his loud departure from Eintracht Frankfurt, there were conflicts and his health is questionable.
At his youngest club FC Utrecht, where he played on loan, there was a scandal in December. Younes and his coach Henk Fraser clashed in training after discussions over a goal. Fraser grabbed Younes by the neck as he did so. He tried to grab him by the collar but slipped, Fraser said later. And about the trigger: “I just found his reaction disrespectful. That was rebellious in my eyes.”
Fraser preceded his dismissal by resigning, but Younes was also unable to keep up. He only played six more games for Utrecht, missed the final phase of the season completely – officially injured, details are not known.
Al-Ettifaq: Henderson statt Younes
Younes did not return to Saudi Arabia either, he terminated the contract with Al-Ettifaq FC “by friendly agreement”, as he revealed in an Instagram post on Thursday: “As the media can currently see on a daily basis, there is The club, or the whole league, is currently undergoing a complete restructuring and I have also decided to look for a new adventure from now on.”
Al-Ettifaq, like other Saudi clubs, is currently upgrading in a high-quality and extremely expensive way. New coach Steven Gerrard can look forward to his former teammate Jordan Henderson. The Liverpool FC captain is said to earn around 800,000 euros a week, the transfer was confirmed on Thursday.
Long-time youth national player
Younes is also likely to have earned a lot in Saudi Arabia, but slowed down his sporting career there – not for the first time. He was once considered one of the most promising German football talents, blessed with fine technique and the quality of creating decisive scenes in midfield. The German-Lebanese was an integral part of the youth national teams from the U17 and played his way into the limelight at the 2015 U21 European Championship.
In Germany he had initial difficulties at Borussia Mönchengladbach and on loan at 1. FC Kaiserslautern, but he made his breakthrough in the Netherlands at Ajax Amsterdam. The reward: In 2017 he played his first five internationals for Germany.
Substitution denied at Ajax
But then an injury and a lack of discipline stopped his development. In March 2018 he refused to come on as a substitute at Ajax and was sent to the second team as a penalty. “These are things that should never happen to you as a professional footballer,” Younes said in a “Sport1” interview at the end of 2022: “I’m just emotional, maybe a little too emotional in some situations.”
There were also problems with the search for a new club. SSC Napoli announced Younes’ commitment back in February 2018. But he denied it and signed a contract in Wolfsburg. Ultimately, the situation became too delicate for VfL and Younes ended up in Naples after all.
Younes is thriving in Frankfurt
There he was absent for a long time due to Achilles tendon problems and was then rarely used under coach Carlo Ancelotti. Nevertheless, Eintracht Frankfurt gave him a chance and took him to the Bundesliga on loan in October 2020.
Younes used it, excelled in midfield and dribbled his way back into the national team. He found his port in Frankfurt – this quote is still held up to him today. Because again there was a dispute about possible changes, Younes refused the training – and wasted half a year of his professional career for the second time because of a suspension. “I’m a rough-edged guy who doesn’t put up with everything and at some point says: Okay, I’m not going to do that anymore,” says Younes about himself.
Only six months in Saudi Arabia
The move to Saudi Arabia should give him and his family a little peace of mind, Younes said. He stayed six months. With the loan to Utrecht, he probably also wanted to remind the national coach that the World Cup in Qatar was coming up – and ultimately took place without him.
The possible federal playmaker has now become a player without a club who has not played a game from the start since January. The managers and trainers will consider carefully whether a cooperation is an option – with all its opportunities and risks.