Kevin Kampl’s Journey: From RB Leipzig to Majorca Farming

The last time most fans saw Kevin Kampl, he was still gliding through midfield for RB Leipzig, pressing high, snapping into tackles, knitting attacks together in that familiar red-and-white shirt. A Champions League regular. A Bundesliga ever-present. One of the leaders of a club that grew up alongside him.

Then, almost without warning, it stopped.

A Career Cut Short by Grief

Kampl, born in Germany but a proud Slovenia international, had built a solid, respected career in his homeland’s top flight. Greuther Fürth, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund – all important chapters. But Leipzig was the epic.

From 2017 to 2026, he became part of the furniture at the Red Bull Arena. Eight and a half years in a modern club is an eternity. He was there for the rise, the European nights, the domestic battles with Bayern and Dortmund. For Leipzig supporters, he wasn’t just another signing. He was a constant.

Then came January 2026.

In the early days of the new year, Kampl and RB Leipzig agreed to terminate his contract. No long farewell tour. No carefully choreographed goodbye at the end of a season. Just a clean, painful cut.

The reason lay far from Saxony. In Slovenia, his world had collapsed. His brother died. Months later, his father passed away. Two blows in quick succession, too heavy to carry alongside the relentless demands of elite football.

Kampl, 35, walked away.

From Midfield Engine to Majorca Farmer

Today, if you want to find the former Champions League midfielder, you don’t look at a team sheet. You look at a field.

Kampl now works as a fruit and vegetable farmer in Majorca, throwing himself into a life that could not be further from the roar of the Bundesliga. He spoke to Bild about the new chapter, and the list of produce alone paints the picture of his days.

“We have honeydew melons, watermelons, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and plenty more,” he said. “They all grow like crazy here. The olive oil we make here tastes delicious.”

The contrast is striking. Not long ago, he was facing some of Europe’s best under the lights. Now he talks about soil, sun, and olive oil with the same quiet pride he once reserved for big wins.

Kampl did not sugar-coat the journey that brought him there.

“I have had a pretty s*** year – there is no other word for it,” he admitted. “Life has to go on, even though it has been very difficult to accept everything that has happened. But the peace and quiet we have on Majorca has done us all a lot of good.”

There’s no cliché here about “fresh starts” or “new challenges”. Just a man trying to find stillness after a storm.

Leipzig Still Feels Like Home

Even from the island, Leipzig has not left him. Far from it.

“I always keep up to date with what RB Leipzig are doing, and I’ll continue to do so,” Kampl said. “I will also be in the city a lot, so who knows what the future might bring.”

That last line will prick the ears of Leipzig fans. He has not closed the door. He has simply stepped away from playing.

When he first announced his departure, his message to supporters underlined just how deep the bond runs.

“Dear fans, first and foremost, I would like to thank you for the eight and a half wonderful years that I was able to play here. You gave me a home.

“I felt so comfortable from day one, also with my family. It [the Red Bull Arena] was my living room. You have always had my back. We have celebrated successes, we have overcome lows – but always as a unit. I am extremely grateful to you for always seeing me as one of you.”

Those words cut through the usual farewell noise. This was not a polite, rehearsed goodbye. It was a player talking about a stadium as his “living room”, a fanbase as his own people.

A Different Kind of Future

Kampl’s story is a reminder that the men we watch in packed arenas are not just names on the back of shirts. They carry grief, loss, and fatigue like everyone else. Some keep going. Some, like Kampl, choose another road.

He has swapped the tempo of pressing triggers and passing angles for the rhythm of seasons and harvests. The boots are down. The work boots are on.

And yet, as he walks his fields in Majorca, checking on melons and tomatoes under the sun, Leipzig still tugs at him. He still follows. He still visits. He still wonders “what the future might bring.”

For a club still defining its own history, there may yet be another chapter with Kevin Kampl’s name on it – just not the one anyone expected when he first arrived back in 2017.