Leipzig signs Brazilian striker Rômulo for reported $29 million as Benjamin Sesko replacement

By Canadian Press on August 15, 2025.

LEIPZIG, Germany (AP) — Leipzig is spending a big chunk of the fee from Benjamin Sesko’s move to Manchester United on his Brazilian replacement Rômulo.

Leipzig signed the 23-year-old striker on a five-year contract Friday from Goztepe, where he scored 17 goals in the Turkish league and cup last season.

Germany’s Kicker magazine reported Leipzig is paying a total of up to 25 million euros ($29.2 million), with 20 million euros of that sum as a transfer fee and the rest in potential add-ons.

At 1.93 meters (6 feet, 4 inches) tall, Rômulo is only slightly shorter than Sesko, who left for United last week for a fee that could reach 85 million euros ($99 million).

“Rômulo combines strong physicality with a clean technique and a sharp eye for goal,” Leipzig’s managing director for sport Marcel Schäfer said in a statement. “He’s a versatile attacking option — he can play as a classic number nine or in more varied roles.”

Leipzig starts its season at fourth-tier Sandhausen in the German Cup on Saturday before facing Bayern Munich in the opening game of the Bundesliga season Aug. 22.

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The Associated Press