Next summer, handball national player Juri Knorr will move from the Rhein-Neckar Löwen to the Danish top club Aalborg. The Danes confirmed the long-awaited transfer of the 24-year-old, who will receive a three-year contract. The Löwen confirmed the playmaker’s wish to move back in April, and since then there has been speculation about Aalborg’s interest. The Danes have appointed former Flensburg player Maik Machulla as coach.
Knorr said he had also previously consulted with some of his future teammates. “So I have a really good feeling and I’m really looking forward to being involved starting next summer,” Knorr said.
Aalborg is pursuing big goals such as winning the Champions League and is putting together a top team to achieve this. “Juri has a unique view of the game, but is also extremely dangerous in front of goal, so we have no doubt that he can take us to a new level,” said Aalborg’s sporting director Jan Larsen.
Knorr uses exit clause
The Lions had already rejected an early transfer for Knorr this year. “Juri is firmly planned for the coming season,” sports director Uwe Gensheimer recently told “Bild”. Knorr scored three goals in the 32:27 win against THW Kiel at the start of the Bundesliga on Thursday.
The national player is making use of an exit clause in his contract, which actually runs until summer 2026. Knorr came to the Lions from GWD Minden in 2021.
At the 2023 World Cup, the playmaker was named best young player, and at this year’s home European Championships, the Flensburg native was named to the All-Star team. Most recently, Knorr surprisingly won silver with the DHB selection at the Olympic Games and was once again an important factor for national coach Alfred Gislason’s team.
The introverted Knorr also wanted to make the move because of the enormous pressure he is under as a leading player in the club and national team. “Perhaps it would be good if he joined a team where not everything rests on him,” Gislason said of the ball distributor shortly before the Olympics.
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