Sports director Arne Friedrich will leave the Bundesliga soccer club Hertha BSC with immediate effect.

As the troubled club announced on Monday evening, the 42-year-old had “agreed to end the collaboration prematurely”.

The ex-national player originally wanted to leave Berlin in the summer, but in February he decided not to extend his expiring contract.

They have "jointly determined that, with a view to planning for the coming season, it makes more sense to end the cooperation now," said sporting director Fredi Bobic.

In 2019, Friedrich returned to the Berliners as a performance manager, for whom he played 288 games between 2002 and 2010.

He has held the position of sports director since 2020.

"We went through the various challenges together, and I always had the feeling that I was fully trusted," said Friedrich.

For various reasons, however, he has had the feeling over the past few months that “I no longer have enough influence on important sporting decisions to do justice to my duties as sporting director”.

Nevertheless, he said: "I am and will remain a Herthaner."

The Berliners around coach Tayfun Korkut are in table 16.

deep in the relegation battle.

In this calendar year, the club is still without a win, most recently there were four defeats in a row.