SC Freiburg have lost Johan Manzambi to Aston Villa for at least €60 million. The Swiss midfielder shatters the club’s transfer record and becomes the most expensive Swiss player in history. Freiburg now ranks seventh among German clubs for exits worth €60m or more.
What happened
Manzambi, who often played as a false nine and showed his scoring threat, breaks the previous SC Freiburg record with this move. Kevin Schade (24, Brentford) and Merlin Röhl (24, Everton) left for £25m each in 2023/24 and 2025/26. Manzambi tops them and becomes Aston Villa’s priciest signing ever, overtaking Amadou Onana, who arrived for around €59.4m from Everton in 2024/25.
The ex-Freiburger is also the most expensive Swiss player ever. He breaks Granit Xhaka’s ten-year-old record, set when Xhaka moved from Borussia Mönchengladbach to Arsenal for €45m in 2016. Villa also landed one of the five most valuable under-20 midfielders – his market value rose again in the July 22, 2026 World Cup update.
Why Aston Villa over Newcastle United?
Newcastle had long looked set to sign Manzambi, but Aston Villa swooped at the last moment. A deal with the Magpies would also have totalled around €60m. The Villans’ Champions League spot may have tipped the scales: while Newcastle would only watch on TV, Villa qualified both via the league and as Europa League winners – beating Freiburg 3:0 in the final.
Manzambi joined Freiburg from Servette FC in January 2023 and made his Bundesliga debut in September 2024 at 18 years and eleven months. After a first season as a squad player, he became a regular last term, scoring seven goals and making nine assists in 47 appearances – a rise that pushed his market value from €8m to over €60m.
What it means for Freiburg
Freiburg lose a key player who made 47 appearances last season with seven goals and nine assists. The club now ranks seventh among German teams for exits worth €60m or more, alongside RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund.
SC Freiburg currently sit seventh in the Bundesliga with zero points – League standing: 7th in Bundesliga, 0 pts. – and face FC Schalke 04 away on February 20, 2027 (16th in the table).
