Surprise package could meet Blues

JUST 11 years separate RB Leipzig’s formation and their first Champions League semi-final after they shocked Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals.

Austrian drinks manufacturer Red Bull bought fifth-division German club SSV Markranstadt in 2009, promptly renaming the club RasenBallsport Leipzig. The RB prefix was no coincidence, standing technically for ‘law ball sports’ but obviously referencing the club’s new corporate owners.

It took just seven years for RB Leipzig, who could face City in the final, to make it to the Bundesliga.

Their ownership model is widely decried among football supporters in Germany. The German FA’s 50+1 rule means clubs must hold a majority of their own voting rights, to limit the influence of big investors. Only investors who have held a 20-year investment with a club can apply for exemption to the rule. Leipzig abide by the rule but while other clubs in Germany boast thousands of fans as voting members, those full rights are not extended to supporters. Protests were wide and varied on Leipzig’s Bundesliga ascent, but the Red Bull impact is here to stay.

Leipzig went a record 13 matches unbeaten from their Bundesliga debut, eventually finishing in second and reaching the 2017-18 Champions League. Influential boss Ralf Rangnick - who has been involved with the club since 2012 stepped up to director level to allow Julian Nagelsmann to take the managerial helm. The 33-year-old has thrived despite his relative youth, steering Leipzig to that maiden Champions League semi-final against Paris St Germain having also swept aside Tottenham in the last 16.