Clemens Riedel

Clemens Riedel
Riedel in 2023
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-07-19) 19 July 2003
Place of birth Wölfersheim, Germany
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Espanyol
Number 38
Youth career
2007–2013 SKV Obbornhofen
2013–2017 Eintracht Frankfurt
2017–2019 TSG Wieseck
2019–2021 Darmstadt 98
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2025 Darmstadt 98 77 (1)
2025– Espanyol 14 (0)
International career
2021–2022 Germany U19 7 (0)
2023 Germany U21 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 00:53, 13 March 2026 (UTC)

Clemens Riedel (born 19 July 2003) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Espanyol. He previously played in Germany with Darmstadt 98 and has represented Germany at under-19 and under-21 youth international levels.

Club career

Darmstadt 98

Riedel was born in Wölfersheim, Hessen, Germany.[1] He started playing football locally with SKV Obbornhofen before having a trial with Eintracht Frankfurt aged nine, and he joined their academy a year later.[2][3] He stayed with Eintracht Frankfurt until 2017, when he moved to TSG Wieseck, and in 2019 he moved to Darmstadt 98 aged 16.[2] He initially joined the youth setup but began to train with the first team during the 2020–21 season,[4] and he made his senior debut for Darmstadt on 24 July 2021 as a substitute in a 2–0 2. Bundesliga defeat to Jahn Regensburg.[5] He made his full debut for the club on 30 July 2021, in a 3–0 away defeat to Karlsruher SC, becoming the first Darmstadt academy graduate to start a league match since Burak Bilgin nine seasons prior, and after playing in four of the club's first five 2. Bundesliga games of the 2021–22 season, he signed his first professional contract with the club on 28 August 2021.[4][6][7] He made nine league appearances for the club across the 2021–22 season.[7]

In April 2023, Riedel extended his contract with Darmstadt to summer 2026.[8] He contributed with 19 league appearances in the 2022–23 season as the club achieved promotion to the Bundesliga, as runners-up of the 2. Bundesliga.[9][10]

Riedel made his Bundesliga debut on 26 August 2023, starting in a 4–1 home loss to Union Berlin, and made 14 Bundesliga appearances for the club over the course of the 2023–24 season,[11] as they finished bottom of the Bundesliga and were relegated back to the 2. Bundesliga.[12]

In August 2024, he became club captain of Darmstadt 98 after Fabian Holland, the previous club captain suffered a cruciate ligament tear. This made him the youngest club captain active in professional German football.[13][14] He played in all but one of Darmstadt's league matches across the 2024–25 season,[15] and he scored his first professional goal on 28 March 2025, with a header in a 2–1 away loss to SSV Ulm 1846.[16][17]

Espanyol

On 25 August 2025, Riedel joined La Liga side Espanyol on a four-year contract.[18][19] The transfer fee was reported to be approximately €2 million, with Darmstadt receiving 10% of any future sale.[19][20]

International career

He was called up to the Germany national under-19 team for the first time in August 2021, and made his debut for the side on 3 September 2021 in a 1–0 win over Switzerland.[2][21] He made 7 appearances in total for the under-19 side.[1]

In September 2023, Riedel was called up to the Germany under-21 team for the first time,[22] and he made his first and only appearance for the team on 8 September, in a 2–0 win over Ukraine.[1] He was again called up to the Germany under-21 team on 9 October 2023 for a Under-21 EURO qualification match against Bulgaria alongside Rocco Reitz of Borussia Mönchengladbach, after Marton Dardai and Jamil Siebert pulled out through injury,[23] though Riedel pulled out of the squad himself two days later through injury.[24]

Style of play

Riedel is a centre-back, though he has also been used at right-back.[20] In January 2025, Johannes Müller of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung noted his aggressive style of defending, the accuracy of his long passing and his ball carrying as facets of his style of play.[14]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Darmstadt 98 2021–22[7] 2. Bundesliga 9 0 1 0 0 0 10 0
2022–23[9] 2. Bundesliga 19 0 1 0 0 0 20 0
2023–24[11] Bundesliga 14 0 1 0 0 0 15 0
2024–25[15] 2. Bundesliga 33 1 3 0 0 0 36 1
Total 75 1 6 0 0 0 81 1
Espanyol 2025–26[1] La Liga 14 0 1 0 0 0 15 0
Career total 89 1 7 0 0 0 96 1
  1. ^ Includes appearances in DFB-Pokal, Copa del Rey.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Clemens Riedel » Profile". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b c "Wetterauer Clemens Riedel lebt Fußballprofi-Traum beim SV Darmstadt 98". Wetterauer Zeitung (in German). 22 September 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  3. ^ "Clemens Riedel – Laufbahn". kicker (in German). Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  4. ^ a b Köhnlein, Stephan (3 August 2021). "Riedel: "Das ist ein unbeschreibliches Gefühl"". kicker (in German). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  5. ^ "Darmstadt 98: Gänsehaut-Gefühl trotz Niederlage gegen Regensburg". hessenschau (in German). 25 July 2021. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  6. ^ ""Absolut verdient": Darmstadt belohnt Riedel mit Profivertrag". kicker (in German). 30 August 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  7. ^ a b c "Spiele von Clemens Riedel – 2021/22" [Games played by Clemens Riedel – 2021/22]. kicker (in German). Olympia-Verlag. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  8. ^ ""Enorme Hingabe": Neues Arbeitspapier für Riedel". kicker (in German). 6 April 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  9. ^ a b "Spiele von Clemens Riedel – 2022/23" [Games played by Clemens Riedel – 2022/23]. kicker (in German). Olympia-Verlag. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  10. ^ "2. Bundesliga 2022/23 - Tabelle". kicker (in German). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  11. ^ a b "Spiele von Clemens Riedel – 2023/24" [Games played by Clemens Riedel – 2023/24]. kicker (in German). Olympia-Verlag. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  12. ^ "Bundesliga 2023/24 - Tabelle". kicker (in German). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  13. ^ Riegel, Sonja (16 October 2024). "Clemens Riedel mit 21 Kapitän des SV Darmstadt 98: "Wahnsinnig stolz"". hessenschau (in German). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  14. ^ a b Müller, Johannes (17 January 2025). "Darmstadt 98: So tickt Deutschlands jüngster Kapitän Clemens Riedel". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  15. ^ a b "Spiele von Clemens Riedel – 2024/25" [Games played by Clemens Riedel – 2024/25]. kicker (in German). Olympia-Verlag. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  16. ^ "Lilien-Einzelkritik: Riedel trifft erstmals, die Freude bleibt aus". Echo Online (in German). 29 March 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  17. ^ "Artistik, ein Strahl und viel Kampf: Ulm feiert den ersten Sieg seit Ende Januar". kicker (in German). 28 March 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  18. ^ "Clemens Riedel joins RCD Espanyol". RCD Espanyol. 25 August 2025. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  19. ^ a b Oliván, Santiago (25 August 2025). "Clemens Riedel, nuevo jugador del Espanyol". Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  20. ^ a b Martínez, Alberto (25 August 2025). "El Espanyol sorprende por la vía alemana con Clemens Riedel, central y capitán a los 21 años". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  21. ^ "U19 Friendlies » Germany against Switzerland » Lineup". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  22. ^ "Lilien bei der Nationalmannschaft" (in German). SV Darmstadt 98. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  23. ^ "Di Salvo muss auf Dardai und Siebert verzichten und nominiert nach". kicker (in German). 9 October 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  24. ^ "Nachnominierter Riedel muss U 21 verlassen". kicker (in German). 11 October 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
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