Umbruch at FC Erzgebirge Aue. Seven players are leaving the third division club, including a striker who played 217 matches for Aue.

FC Erzgebirge Aue will have to do without its leading player Dimitrij Nazarov in the future. After six years, he will leave the Veilchen at the end of the season. This was announced by sports manager Matthias Heidrich on Thursday.

Nazarov gave family reasons for his decision and therefore turned down the new contract offer. It is not known where the 33-year-old will move to with his newly-founded family.

“We have to respect his decision. It is a pity for the club, but now it also brings planning security. We can now clearly push topics in other directions,” said Heidrich.

Nazarov, an Azerbaijani, had moved to Aue from Karlsruher SC in 2016 and had become one of FC Erzgebirge’s leading players with his performances and clear statements. He has played 217 games for the Saxons so far, scoring 48 goals.

Along with Nazarov, Philipp Klewin, Lukas Sedlak, Ulrich Taffertshofer, Nico Gorzel and Tom Baumgart, who were not offered new contracts by Aue, will also leave the club at the last home game of the season against FC Ingolstadt on 20 May. The departure of Antonio Jonijc to league rivals SV Wehen Wiesbaden had already been announced. Jonjic will also be sent off against Ingolstadt.

Erzgebirge Aue: Budget must be cut

A few weeks ago, it was announced that FC Erzgebirge would have to cut its budget from twelve to ten million euros for the new season. The FCE squad is to be reduced from 30 to 25 players.

“If we have less money available, the players’ salaries cannot remain the same. We will still remain attractive,” sports director Matthias Heidrich told the “Freie Presse”.

He nevertheless underlined the club’s ambitions: “We have a great environment, great fans, good training conditions, a lot of tradition. That has value, as some talks have also shown. We don’t need to hide in the league at all.” wozi with dpa