Who Makes RB Salzburg's & RB Leipzig’s Combined All-Time XI?

The Red Bull football revolution has been a relatively recent movement, but has already had a big impact on both their domestic leagues as well as European competition. The motive for Red Bull, along with building brand awareness, was to develop talent across the world whilst allowing the players to stay within their culture for longer.

RB Salzburg have won the Austrian Bundesliga 13 times since becoming a Red Bull team, along with the Austrian Cup nine times. RB Leipzig have only one piece of silverware so far, the 2021/22 DFB Pokal, but also made it to the Champions League Semi-finals in 2019.

With over 13 years of football for both clubs, they have seen a wealth of talent wear the Red Bulls on their jersey, but who makes their best-ever combined XI?

Hungarian goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi has been at both RB Salzburg and RB Leipzig, being in the Red Bull system for over nine years.

In his time at RB Leipzig, Gulacsi has played 284 games and has kept 90 clean sheets, playing in nearly every Bundesliga game for six seasons.

Overall a reliable man to have between the sticks and a loyal servant to Red Bull.

Lukas Klostermann joined RB Leipzig from VfL Bochum in 2014 and has been a constant fixture in the starting XI ever since.

The German has notched up 174 appearances for The Red Bulls and picked up a DFB Pokal as well.

The right-back has also made his way into the German national team as a result of his performances at Leipzig, making 18 appearances for Germany since 2019.

Now at Liverpool, the centre-back moved to England from RB Leipzig. The Frenchman played four seasons for Leipzig, from 2017 to 2021, making 66 appearances and scoring twice.

Konate was a free transfer for RB Leipzig and turned out to be even more valuable than they could’ve expected, making his Bundesliga debut at only 18 years old.

A strong pairing with Dayot Upamecano was the trademark of Konate’s time in the Red Bull project along with expert positioning, tackling and intercepting.

The other half of the RB Leipzig centre-back pairing with Konate was another Frenchman Dayot Upamecano, who before playing for RB Leipzig, played for another Red Bull team, RB Salzburg.

Upamecano stayed in Germany after leaving Leipzig, making the move to Bayern Munich where he has since won two DFL Supercups and the 2021/22 Bundesliga.

While he didn’t win any silverware at RB Leipzig, Upamecano is one of their greatest-ever defenders and was a solid part of the Leipzig side that reached the 2019/20 Champions League Semi-finals.

A German Cup winner with RB Leipzig, the left-back is now on loan at Hoffenheim, where he has made eight appearances so far this Bundesliga season.

In his first season, and most memorable, at RB Leipzig, in 2019 Angelino was sent on loan to the German club from Manchester City, where he helped Leipzig to their first-ever Champions League Semi-final thanks to the Spaniard’s late assist in the 2 - 1 win over Atletico Madrid.

Though he may not be at the club currently, Angelino is a good shout for the left side of the defence.

Marcel Sabitzer is another player who spent extensive time in the Red Bull set-up, being at RB Leipzig from 2014 to 2021, with a season-long loan to RB Salzburg for the 2014/15 season.

Sabitzer, another player to feature in the 2019/20 Champions League run, made 177 appearances for RB Leipzig and 33 for RB Salzburg, scoring 40 and 19 goals respectively.

Though Sabitzer is now at Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, he is a more than solid midfielder and a definite shout for an all-time Red Bull team.

Joshua Kimmich only spent two seasons at RB Leipzig, from 2013 to 2015, before making his move to Bayern Munich.

The German made 53 appearances for RB Leipzig, scoring three goals, all enough to catch the eyes of Bayern.

Since moving, Kimmich has made 210 appearances for Munich, scoring 22 goals. Along with this, the German has won the Bundesliga every season (seven titles), three DFB Pokals, six DFL Supercups, the Champions League, the Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, cementing himself as one of the best midfielders in the world.

Another solid midfielder to play for both RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg is none other than Liverpool’s Naby Keita.

The Guinea international made 59 appearances for the Austrian team from 2014 to 2016 and 58 appearances for Leipzig from 2016 to 2018.

Keita won the Austrian Bundesliga and the Austrian Cup in both seasons in Salzburg and has won a Premier League, an FA Cup, an EFL Cup, a Community Shield, the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup with Liverpool.

One of the only players in this XI that still plays for a Red Bull club, Christopher Nkunku is currently lighting up the Bundesliga with Leipzig.

Though linked with a move away to Chelsea, Nkunku has made 103 appearances and scored 38 goals for RB Leipzig after his move to Germany from PSG.

Nkunku was part of the team that won Leipzig’s first-ever piece of silverware, with the 2021/22 DFB Pokal and has solidified his potential as a future star.

Perhaps the biggest star to come out of the Red Bull system right now, Erling Haaland, who is tearing up the Premier League with Manchester City.

Haaland was at RB Salzburg for a single season following his move from Molde in January 2019, making 16 appearances and scoring 17 goals, catching the eyes of the world after his performances for the Austrian side in the Champions League.

The Norwegian’s position as one of the top strikers in Europe, and the best ever for a Red Bull side, is clear to see in his statistics. Haaland scored 62 goals in 67 appearances for Borussia Dortmund and has scored 15 goals in just nine Man City appearances.

A big face in football, Sadio Mane, established himself as a top-tier player in his time in Austria with RB Salzburg.

The Senegalese made 63 appearances for RB Salzburg, scoring 31 times for the Austrians before moving to the Premier League with Southampton and then Liverpool.

Now at Bayern Munich, Mane has the trophy cabinet to prove his skill on the wing. Mane helped RB Salzburg to an Austrian Bundesliga and Austrian Cup double, whilst also winning a Premier League title, an FA Cup, an EFL Cup, the Champions League, a Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup for Liverpool.

This also includes a DFL Supercup for Munich already and the 2021 African Cup of Nations with Senegal.