Overview
- VfL Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt were eliminated from the Champions League playoffs on Thursday, September 3, with Wolfsburg losing on penalties to Inter Milan and Frankfurt beaten by Paris Saint‑Germain after extra time.
- FC Bayern München remains the only German team in the Champions League group stage, cutting Germany’s continental representation to one club for this season’s main phase.
- Journalists link the double elimination to a summer exodus of top players — including Carlotta Wamser, Selina Cerci, Vivien Endemann and Elisa Senß — which weakened squads and reduced the league’s appeal to elite talent.
- Club-level problems deepened the losses: Frankfurt’s post-fusion instability and personnel shortfalls and Wolfsburg’s departures of leaders such as Alexandra Popp and sporting staff left both clubs short of the experience needed at elite level.
- As a practical consequence, Wolfsburg and Frankfurt will enter the Europa Cup qualifying path at the end of September and the results have intensified pressure on the Ligaverband’s push for greater professionalization starting in 2027 if the DFB backs its 18 September motion.