 In the end, he could not assert himself at the club – during his second season at the club he only played 13 league matches, so he was transferred at the end of that season to Neuchâtel Xamax in Switzerland.In 1978, Blankenburg moved to Chicago Sting in the United States, before being loaned out for a few months to KSC Hasselt in Belgium.He retired from professional football in 1981 at Preußen Münster.