RB Leipzig Sporting Director Marcel Schäfer has personally refuted rumours claiming that Slovenia international midfielder Kevin Kampl is retiring due to family matters.

Schäfer made the rebuttal when asked about the rumours by Sky Sports Germany before Leipzig's match against Bayer Leverkusen on the same day.

He said Kampl has not made any decision yet, and that the entire club is providing him and his family with as much support as possible. He also criticized those who were rumour mongering based on his family situation as a "lack of respect" for the player and his family's privacy.

Schäfer said, "In recent weeks, we have had several frank, confidential, and very in-depth conversations with Kevin, discussing his very special situation and his family circumstances."

"For us, the most important thing is the well-being of Kevin and his family, which has been our principle for the past few weeks. There are several options available, but he has not yet made any decision."

"We fully understand that journalists always write sensational headlines and make sensational transfer rumours; football, to some extent, lives off these, but this involves a very special private situation."

"If he had made a decision, we will report back when the time is right; otherwise, please respect that and give Kevin and his family some space."

Shortly afterward, Leipzig head coach Ole Werner also said in a pre-match interview, "Kevin can decide for himself how much time he needs and what he and his family want to do. We have given him ample time."

Kampl has been granted bereavement leave since October to return to his hometown of Solingen to be with and care for his family after the death of his 51-year-old elder brother, Seki, and has not played in any Leipzig's matches since.

While he and his family were still grieving the passing of his brother, on Friday (December 11th), a Leipzig-based media outlet reported that Kampl's father, unable to cope with the grief of outliving his son, had fallen seriously ill, forcing the player to retire.

The news quickly spread across multiple international media outlets, and among Chinese media outlets, the first to repost the rumour were our website's "Daily Slap in the Face Party" resident Chinese representative, Zhi Bo Ba, and the Malaysian Chinese daily newspaper, Sin Chew Daily!

About Kevin Kampl

The 35-year-old Kevin Kampl was born on October 9, 1990, in Solingen, Germany. He is 1.78 meters tall and primarily plays as a center midfielder, but can also play as a left or right midfielder. He holds dual German and Slovenian citizenship.

Kampl previously played for Bayer Leverkusen, Greuther Fürth, Osnabrück, and Aalen. In 2012, he joined Red Bull Salzburg for €3 million.

During his two-and-a-half-year spell at Salzburg, Kampl won the Austrian Bundesliga and the Austrian Cup once each with the club.

In January 2015, Kampl joined Borussia Dortmund for €12 million.

While with the BVB, although he only had limited playing time, he still helped the club reach the DFB-Pokal final.

In August of the same year, Kampl returned to Bayer Leverkusen for €11 million.

On the 2017 summer transfer window deadline day, Kampl joined RB Leipzig for €20 million.

Since joining Leipzig, Kampl has made 283 appearances for the Bundesliga powerhouse in all competitions so far, scoring 10 goals and providing 23 assists, winning the DFB-Pokal twice and the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup (DFL-Supercup) once with the club.