USMNT Defender John Brooks to Leave Wolfsburg This Summer

U.S. men's national team defender John Brooks will leave Wolfsburg at the end of the season, the club announced Tuesday. 

Brooks spent five years at the club after he left Hertha Berlin for Wolfsburg in 2017 for a reported 20 million euros ($22.4 million). At the time, the move set a transfer record for an American international that was later broken by Christian Pulisic's 2019 transfer to Chelsea. 

The 29-year-old center back will be out of contract this summer and is currently free to sign a pre-contract agreement with any team outside of the Bundesliga, although he has yet to announce his next move. 

“I’d like to thank the VfL Wolfsburg management for their honest discussions, but I’ve decided to take on a new challenge once again,” Brooks said in the statement. “I’ve had the opportunity to play football at a high level for five years and it’s obviously not easy for me to leave after such a long time. I wish the team and the entire club all the best and will give my all for VfL until my last game.”

Brooks has started 24 games in all competitions for Wolfsburg this season, and has made 136 appearances over his four-and-a-half seasons with the club. Despite reaching the Champions League for this season, Wolfsburg currently sits in 12th on 28 points, just five points above the relegation zone. The club also employs U.S. prospect Kevin Paredes.

With the USMNT, Brooks has made 45 senior appearances since his debut in 2013, and jumped on the scene in the team's 2014 World Cup opener with his match-winning header in the 86th minute against Ghana. He has not been called up to the USMNT since the September World Cup qualifiers.