Career, salary, market value, wife and family

Star portrait

After strong performances in the Bundesliga for FC Heidenheim and Borussia Mönchengladbach, Tim Kleindienst is now also hunting for goals for Germany: Kleindienst made his debut for the national team in a DFB uniform in the Nations League games against Bosnia and Herzegovina and against the Netherlands.

The late starter is known for not only scoring goals reliably as a striker, but also for doing excellent defensive work. 2024 is Kleindienst’s final breakthrough year. But how did his career begin, what is his private life like and what is his English alter ego “Timothy Smallservice” all about?

Here you can find all information about Tim Kleindienst.

Tim Kleindienst also scores goals reliably at Gladbach.Image: dpa / David Inderlied

Tim Kleindienst: Does he have a girlfriend or wife?

Tim Kleindienst has a wife. The Bundesliga professional married his previously long-term girlfriend Josephine in 2022. Kleindienst then posted a photo from their vacation together on their first wedding anniversary.

A short time later, Kleindienst gave Sky reporter Riccardo Basile a detailed interview for the documentary series “My Story” and gave private insights into the couple’s life together.

Among other things, the then Heidenheim player showed the shared home including three pet turtles and a dog. Kleindienst is a fan of animals – and also of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh, as he admitted.

Kevin Müller’s role in Kleindienst Wedding

Besides Tim and Josephine, who definitely couldn’t be missed at the Kleindienst wedding was Kevin Müller. The Heidenheim keeper and Kleindienst’s long-time teammate is a close friend – and was best man at Kleindienst’s wedding.

Even after Kleindienst’s time at FC Heidenheim ended, nothing changed about this friendship. This became clear after the meeting between FCH and Borussia Mönchengladbach in October 2024. After Kleindienst scored two goals for his former club, Müller congratulated him afterwards. He also joked why Kleindienst didn’t score a hat trick.

In addition to Müller, Kleindienst also has other friends from his previous clubs. He knows Nils Petersen, for example, from their time together in Freiburg. Petersen regularly comments on Kleindienst’s posts and has been pleased with his performance in the fantasy manager game Kickbase in the past.

Career: Heidenheim, Mönchengladbach, DFB

Tim Kleindienst started his career as a child at the local club Viktoria Jüterbog. At the age of twelve he moved to Energie Cottbus, away from his hometown and away from his family. As he explained to Basile in the documentary, it was “incredibly difficult” for him.

After a season with the Cottbus professional team in the 3rd league, in which Kleindienst scored 13 goals, first division club SC Freiburg snapped up the deal. However, Kleindienst was never really able to assert himself with the Breisgauers in the coming years and, after a temporary loan to Heidenheim, he moved permanently to the then second division club in 2019. After a six-month stay at KAA Gent in Belgium, he returned to the Swabian Alb.

There Kleindienst finally made his breakthrough, rose with the team and contributed 17 points in the club’s first Bundesliga season to sensationally qualify for the Conference League.

Tim Kleindienst played under Frank Schmidt for several years.Bild: imago images / passion2press

But Kleindienst subsequently preferred to look for a new challenge and move to the traditional club Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer of 2024. There he worked right from the start and shone again on the first matchdays with many goals and assists, so that he was nominated for the German national team for the first time.

He made his debut immediately in the starting line-up in the 2-1 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 11, 2024. There, Kleindienst played a typically committed game for him, even if he didn’t score himself.

But he was invited by national coach Julian Nagelsmann not only because of his goals, but also because of his work against the ball. Even Kleindienst told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” in August 2024: “I may not always be the most delicate footballer, but I also have a bit of a dirtbag mentality.”

Salary: How much does Tim Kleindienst earn?

Little is known about Tim Kleindienst’s salary. There is information circulating on some sites on the Internet that he is one of the top 10 earners at Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he signed a contract in the summer of 2024.

Kleindienst is expected to earn 200,000 euros per week there, which corresponds to an annual salary of 2.4 million euros. However, this cannot be verified.

Market value of Tim Kleindienst

Tim Kleindienst’s market value has steadily increased in recent years. According to “transfermarkt.de” it was at its peak in October 2024: Kleindienst is worth 8 million euros since his move to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Cheers out: Tim Kleindienst can be proud of his increase in market value.Bild: dpa / Christian Charisius

Does Tim Kleindienst have an exit clause?

When moving from FC Heidenheim to Borussia Mönchengladbach, the “Foals” made use of an exit clause in Kleindienst’s contract. This was negotiated a year earlier and amounted to between seven and eight million euros.

However, it is not known whether Kleindienst also has an exit clause in the contract in Gladbach.

What car does Tim Kleindienst drive?

Tim Kleindienst’s car became an issue when there were transfer rumors about a move to Gladbach in the early summer. The then Heidenheimer’s car was seen at the Mönchengladbach office, which was noticed by a knowledgeable Borussia fan. He shared a shot of it directly on social media, where the photo was shared diligently.

Kleindienst has a very eye-catching car, the American pickup truck “Dodge Ram”. At the time of the change rumors in June 2024, the car was already known because there was an article about it in “Bild” just a month before.

In this, Kleindienst himself explained: “I have a fascination for American muscle cars.” These would normally hardly fit anywhere in Germany, “not in a parking garage anyway. But in Heidenheim it’s okay.”

Family: Tim Kleindienst’s parents and brother

Tim Kleindienst has a brother named Lukas Kleindienst, who is also a footballer but never made it into professional sports. According to “transfermarkt.de”, he played for 1. FC Oberhaid in the Bavaria Northwest regional league in the 2023/24 season.

The Kleindienst brothers were seen together during FC Heidenheim’s promotion to the Bundesliga.

Tim Kleindienst with brother Lukas after Heidenheim’s promotion to the Bundesliga.Bild: imago images / eibner

However, little is publicly known about Tim Kleindienst’s parents. When he played with Heidenheim at Union Berlin for the first time in February, he told the “Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung” that Kleindienst’s mother coordinated getting tickets for the game – for around 50 family members and friends. His hometown of Jüterbog is very close to the capital.

Who is “Timothy Smallservice”?

Timothy Smallservice is not Kleindienst’s British half-brother or his superhero name. It’s just a joke that came up on social media when it came to how cheap a player of his stature is – and what transfer fee he would probably be worth in the Premier League.

Clubs there are now paying ridiculous prices for every player, especially a striker, who is not up to three. In a parallel universe, an English version of Tim Kleindienst – called: Timothy Smallservice – would be worth a lot more than the seven to eight million euros that Mönchengladbach transferred to Heidenheim for him in the summer.