Credit: Imago

Cameron Smith

Sat 9 May 2026 8:10, UK

Rangers boss Danny Rohl has been linked with a move to Wolfsburg, but it is a managerial switch that would be rather strange.

After an excellent run heading into the split, the Gers reopened their campaign woefully, with successive losses against Motherwell and Hearts.

As a result, Rohl’s side sit seven points behind league leaders Hearts, who would knock the Govan outfit out of the title picture completely with a win this weekend.

At the same time, the Rangers boss has been linked with a move to German side VfL Wolfsburg, who are scrapping for their lives at the bottom of the Bundesliga.

With this in mind, Ibrox News takes a look at the situation from the Wolves’ perspective.

Disaster season will have a big day in Danny Rohl situation

As of now, Wolfsburg sit 16th in the German standings, occupying the relegation playoff spot, meaning that as things stand, they will face Hannover in a two-legged playoff, with the Reds currently sitting third in the second ter.

With a sizeable gap to Werder Bremen in 15th, the Wolves’ scrap is with St. Pauli and Heidenheim to gain the lifeline of the playoff.

Rohl remains a highly rated figure in his home country, with previous links to the job at RB Leipzig during his time at Sheffield Wednesday.

With this in mind, he will surely not want to be in charge of a club in the 2. Bundesliga, irrespective of the instant promotion ambitions that the Niedersachsen club will have.

With two to go, Wolfsburg occupy the playoff spot, though crucially, they will take on relegation rivals St. Pauli on the final matchday of the season.

This weekend, the Wolves host champions Bayern, while the Kiezkickers make the trip to Leipzig, meaning that the final day is likely to be a shootout to avoid automatic relegation, between two clubs level on goal difference.

Meanwhile, Heidenheim will look to throw themselves into the mix with a win against Köln on Sunday.

The background on Wolfsburg

From an outside perspective, the general view is one that Wolfsburg are a sizeable club in the German landscape.

However, this could not be further from the truth, despite the club being the only outside the recognised big names to win the Bundesliga this century, with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, VfB Stuttgart, Werder Bremen and even Bayer Leverkusen carrying more ‘relevance’ across the Bundesrepublik.

Across the tiers of German professional football, the 50+1 rule outlines that at least 50 per cent, plus one extra share, must be owned by the supporting members.

In the cases of Freiburg, Schalke and a number of other clubs, 100 per cent of the club is owned by the fans – with a lot of top flight clubs sitting within the 70-80 per cent mark, with the likes of Mercedes and Porsche holding shares in Stuttgart, while Audi, Adidas and Allianz each have an 8.33 per cent stake in Bayern.

Founded in 1945 as a Volkswagen workers club, Wolfsburg are one of two clubs with an exception to the ruling, with their historical relationship with the automotive giant meaning that there was an element of trust to see the club continue under its ownership.

As a result, Wolfsburg-Fussball GmbH, a subsidiary of Volkswagen itself, takes ownership.

A small city essentially purpose-built for the company, with financial backing more effective than most in the league, and the exception to 50+1 all leads to immense criticism from across the country, with many fans across all professional tiers essentially praying on the Wolves’ ongoing downfall.

Danny Rohl would not get the same love at Wolfsburg

As mentioned, Wolfsburg are one of two clubs handed a 50+1 exception, with Bayer Leverkusen the other, with the Werself – meaning ‘Workers Eleven more literally’, owned by pharmaceutical giant Bayer.

As a result, the fanbases of both clubs are not too large, though Leverkusen benefits from being in a footballing hotbed, with the cities of Cologne, Düsseldorf, Monchengladbach, Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen all being a stone’s throw away.

While the way they ended Bayern’s dominance in 2024 was fantastic, the general consensus was ‘anybody but Leverkusen’, similarly to the reception RB Leipzig receive, who fit into the 50+1 regulations through a loophole.

Wolfsburg are constantly slammed for their fanbase across Germany – hardly a surprise given the relative size of the place itself.

Often failing to fill the 30,000 seater Volkswagen Arena, with a lacklustre away backing, the Wolves produce far from the raucous atmospheres initially thought of when you think of German football.

There are not many places better to deliver than Ibrox – the same can be said for Hillsborough during Rohl’s time at Sheffield Wednesday.

Wolfsburg may be able to offer ambition in the transfer market, and the platform to build in a low pressure environment, but it would be a strange backwards move if anything.

Rohl may indeed be up for a return home, somewhat close to home as well as a Saxon, but the move itself may not be the one to benefit his career in the way that may be imagined from an outside perspective.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Govan.