Junior Malanda, 20, died in a car crash on his way to meet teammates for a training camp on Saturday.

Malanda joined Wolfsburg from Belgian Pro League side Zulte Waregem in January 2014, going on to score two goals and set up four more in 17 Bundesliga games. He previously played for Lille in France.

Malanda was a passenger in a Volkswagen Touareg that was traveling toward Hannover when it went off the motorway "for as yet unknown reasons" near Bielefeld in western Germany, police said.

"The car broke through the right guardrail, hit a tree and flipped over several times in the embankment. The car came to a stop on its roof. One person was thrown out of the vehicle by the accident and died at the scene," police said in a statement. "This was the 20-year-old Belgian Bundesliga player of VFL Wolfsburg, Bernhard Geoffrey Malanda Adje."

Wolfsburg forward Kevin De Bruyne -- a club-mate and countryman of Malanda -- wrote on Instagram: "So strange to hear your friend in the morning and then hear this news. Lost a great friend way [too] early. Rest in peace my friend. You will always be around."