Thank you for your continued enthusiastic support for Urawa Reds.

As announced in a club release, four players who have made significant contributions to Urawa Reds left the team at the end of June.
Each of the four players was someone who had received particularly high expectations and support from our fans and supporters, and we take very seriously the fact that our captain and vice-captain have left in the middle of the season.

As the sports director, I am in a position responsible for organizing the team, and there may be various opinions as to whether it is appropriate for me to explain the background to individual transfer cases. However, given the seriousness of the matter and confidentiality obligations, I am unable to disclose too much information. However, I will explain the recent developments below.

・ Hiroki Sakai
In June 2021, he joined Urawa Reds on a permanent transfer from Olympique de Marseille in Ligue 1 (French first division).
At the time, he explained his reason for joining Urawa Reds by saying, "Urawa Reds have special fans and supporters like Marseille, who give me a sense of tension and responsibility." As he has done, he brought a good sense of tension to himself and the team both on and off the pitch, and played with passion and a sense of responsibility.
Regarding his departure for this transfer, we tried to persuade him to stay as he is an important asset to our team. However, given his strong desire to "play overseas again," and the many options available to him including Europe, we are grateful to him for joining Urawa Reds in top form, and after careful consideration of his contributions to the team to date, as well as the overall structure of the team, including financial matters, we have decided to respect his wishes, although it was a difficult decision.

Alexander Scholz
In May 2021, he joined Urawa Reds on a permanent transfer from FC Midtjylland in the Danish Superliga (Danish first division).
Many fans and supporters are aware that he is a person who proactively takes on challenges in different cultures, not only in Japan but also throughout his career so far. He also made a great contribution to the team with his wonderful humanity, treating everyone equally, including players, team staff, and club staff, as well as fans, supporters and the media, his high level of technique and tactical eye on the pitch, and his strong winning spirit.
Regarding his departure for this transfer, while we understood his desire to take on the challenge of a different culture, we made strong efforts to persuade him to stay, on the grounds that he is an indispensable player who cannot be replaced. However, even with all the power currently at hand at the Urawa Reds club, we were unable to stop him.
When a player is transferred during the contract period, a transfer fee is incurred, and this amount represents not only the player's own value but also the player's opinion of the club.
We Urawa Reds are once again strongly resolved to become a club that can avoid transfers like this one, that is, a club that can compete on a global level in terms of economic strength, brand power, and so on.

・Ken Ken Iwao
In January 2022, he joined Urawa Reds on a temporary transfer from J2 League club Tokushima Vortis, and joined on a permanent transfer in November of the same year.
Under a total of three managers, in addition to his excellent performance on the pitch, he contributed to fostering a common understanding within the team with his excellent tactical understanding and ability to express himself in words.
Regarding this transfer, we tried to persuade him to stay as we highly valued his contributions, but he has stated that he is at an age where he does not have much time left to play as a player and he is adamant that he wants to stick to his time on the pitch, so we have decided to respect his wishes.

Ola Solbakken
In January 2024, he joined Urawa Reds on a temporary transfer from AS Roma of the Italian Serie A (Italian first division).
Despite his short contract period, he showed a sincere attitude towards football, but after joining the team he was unlucky enough to suffer multiple injuries, which meant he spent a lot of time off the pitch.
Despite this, he showed great potential as a large left-footed winger, and Urawa Reds looked into ways to keep him as a part of their team after July, but the clubs were unable to reach an agreement during the loan period, and he will leave the club in June in accordance with his contract.

We sincerely apologize to our fans and supporters for causing concern by having our training director replaced in the middle of the season and having our captain and vice-captain leave the team.

The team has played Trial official matches so far, but it has to be said that the team's current level of completion is lagging behind the growth curve that was set at the start of the season.
At the Football Headquarters, we are constantly evaluating our team, players and staff from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives and working to strengthen and improve them. However, we have not been able to fight consistently, with ups and downs in performance from Trial to game and at different times during Trial, and we feel that we are not living up to everyone's expectations.
However, the club has no doubts about its approach to continuing to build a team with determination while improving its fighting style, counting backwards from the day when it will be able to create a team that can compete with the world's best clubs at next year's Club World Cup and show our fans and supporters a fight that they can be proud of.
Efforts to speed up growth and changes to achieve this are necessary, and we are taking steps to achieve this, but we would like to remain firmly in the direction of growth.
Naturally, throughout this process, as a club called Urawa Reds, there is not a Trial Trial in which we do not aim to win, as that is how we approach football.
All of our players and staff are determined to run, fight and persevere to the end, aiming to win all 17 official Trial remaining this season.

We will continue to focus on Trial at hand and make steps in daily training to win, while also working backwards from the Club World Cup to build a team that can compete with rival clubs around the world. We will continue to devote all our efforts to building a strong and attractive team, so we ask for your continued support.

Urawa Red Diamonds Sports Director: Satoshi Horinouchi