From Berlin to Mainz via Dresden and Hamburg: Meet Ransford Königsdörffer

A detailed look at our latest signing’s career so far

Waffles as a reward for scoring – that incentive has worked well for Königsdörffer.

Welcome to Mainz, Ransford Königsdörffer! The 24-year-old attacker has joined FSV from Hamburger SV, as announced on Wednesday. The Berlin-born forward already has several notable clubs on his CV and has also gained international experience with Germany’s youth sides and as a Ghana international.

HIS BEGINNINGS in Berlin

Born in Berlin, Königsdörffer began playing football as a child and first turned out for SC Minerva 93, based in Berlin-Moabit. He later moved to SC Charlottenburg, before spending a total of five years at Hertha BSC, where he progressed through all of the club’s youth teams up to U19 level. Several injuries limited Königsdörffer to three brief cameos in all competitions for the club’s U19s.

FIRST TASTE OF PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL AT DYNAMO DRESDEN

The attacker joined Dynamo Dresden at the age of 17, became a regular for their U19s and was named in the senior squad for the first time on matchday 18 of the 2019/20 season. Königsdörffer made his 2. Bundesliga debut away to 1. FC Nürnberg on matchday 18, coming on in the 72nd minute. He left the club at the end of the 2021/22 season, having made 76 competitive appearances for Dynamo, scoring 13 goals and setting up a further nine (Photo: IMAGO/Dennis Hetzschold).

PROMOTION AND BUNDESLIGA DEBUT WITH HAMBURGER SV

Königsdörffer joined Hamburger SV in summer 2022 at the age of 20. He featured in both legs of their promotion play-off in his first season with the club, but Hamburg were beaten by VfB Stuttgart and remained in the second tier.

At the end of the 2024/25 season, Königsdörffer and HSV finished second in the table and secured promotion to the Bundesliga. The attacker played a key role as a regular starter, featuring in 32 of a possible 34 league games, scoring 14 goals and providing three assists. In 2025/26, the 24-year-old helped HSV maintain their top-flight status, making 33 appearances. In total, Königsdörffer played 138 competitive games for Hamburg, scoring 33 goals and registering nine assists. (Photo: IMAGO/Claus Bergmann).

from former Germany youth international to his first cap for ghana

Königsdörffer was called up to the Germany U21 squad for the first time by Stefan Kuntz in September 2021 and came on in the 73rd minute of their European Championship qualifier against San Marino. No further appearances for the side followed, with the attacker making just one more outing for the Germany U20s against France in November 2021.

Königsdörffer has Ghanaian roots and was first called up to Ghana’s senior national team by Otto Addo in September 2022. The attacker made his debut for his father’s homeland against Nicaragua, playing around 10 minutes. Although the now 24-year-old was not included in the squad for the 2022 World Cup, the Berlin-born forward has since made six further appearances for the ‘Black Stars’ across all competitions, most recently against Austria in March 2026 (Photo: IMAGO/Shengolpixs).

First team Ransford Königsdörffer joins Mainz Alle News