Benjamin Paa Kwesi Henrichs (born 23 February 1997) is a German professional footballer who plays as a full-back or

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

and the Germany national team.

Club career

Bayer Leverkusen

Henrichs is an academy graduate of

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

, whom he joined at the age of seven, and captained the side at under-19 level. Having impressed during his formative years with the club, he was promoted to the senior side in 2015 and made his

debut on 20 September when he came on as a second-half substitute for Karim Bellarabi in a 3–0 defeat to

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

. He became a regular with the side the following season during which he amassed 29 appearances for the campaign. He ultimately went on to make over 80 appearances for the club across all competitions before signing for

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

side AS Monaco in August 2018.

AS Monaco

On 28 August 2018, Henrichs joined Monaco on a five-year contract. Two months later, on 27 October, he scored his first goal in a 2–2 draw against

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

RB Leipzig (loan)

On 8 July 2020, Henrichs joined

on a season-long loan. The deal included an option to buy for €15 million at the end of the season.

RB Leipzig

On 12 April 2021, Henrichs joined RB Leipzig on a permanent deal until 2025, in which they activated the €15 million buyout option. Later that year, on 11 December, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in the stoppage time in a 4–1 victory over

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

. In May 2024, he extended his contract at the club until 2028. By the end of the year, on 20 December, he sustained a torn

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

in a match against Bayern Munich which would sideline him for the rest of the season.

International career

Henrichs was born in Germany to a German father and a Ghanaian mother and was eligible to represent both nations prior to making his debut for Germany. In a 2017 interview, he revealed that Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien was his idol growing up but he chose to represent Germany because they were the nation which approached him when he was still a teenager.

Germany

On 4 November 2016, Henrichs was called up to the Germany national side for the first time by manager Joachim Löw for the nation's World Cup qualifier against

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

and a friendly match against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Seven days later, he made his debut against the former in an 8–0 victory for Germany. The following year, he was named in Löw's squad for the

2017 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup was the tenth and final edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup, a quadrennial international men's Association football, football tournament organised by FIFA. It was held in Russia, from 17 June to 2 July 2017, ...

– the curtain raiser for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

– and made two appearances as Germany went on to lift the title. He was later excluded from Germany's World Cup squad. Henrichs was named in Germany's squad for UEFA Euro 2024.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

RB Leipzig * DFB-Pokal: 2021–22, 2022–23, runner up: 2020–21 * DFL-Supercup:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Germany *

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Individual * Fritz Walter Medal U19 Gold:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

References

External links

Profile
at the RB Leipzig website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henrichs, Benjamin 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from Bocholt, Germany Footballers from Münster (region) Germany men's youth international footballers Germany men's under-21 international footballers Olympic footballers for Germany Germany men's international footballers German men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football midfielders Men's association football utility players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players AS Monaco FC players RB Leipzig players Bundesliga players Ligue 1 players 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics UEFA Euro 2024 players FIFA Confederations Cup–winning players German expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco German expatriate sportspeople in Monaco German sportspeople of Ghanaian descent 21st-century German sportsmen