2025–26 Bayer 04 Leverkusen season

Bayer Leverkusen
2025–26 season
AdministrationFernando Carro (CEO)
Simon Rolfes (Managing Director Sports)
Head coachErik ten Hag
StadiumBayArena
BundesligaPre-season
DFB-PokalSecond round
UEFA Champions LeagueLeague phase

The 2025–26 season is the 122nd season in the history of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, and the club's 47th consecutive season in the top flight of German football. In addition to the domestic league, the club is participating in this season's editions of the DFB-Pokal and the UEFA Champions League.

This season saw Dutchman Erik ten Hag become the new head coach of Bayer Leverkusen on 1 July, following Xabi Alonso's departure to Real Madrid.[1]

Players

First-team squad

As of 21 August 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Netherlands NED Mark Flekken
3 DF Ecuador ECU Piero Hincapié
4 DF England ENG Jarell Quansah
5 DF France FRA Loïc Badé
7 MF Germany GER Jonas Hofmann
8 MF Germany GER Robert Andrich (captain)
9 MF Argentina ARG Claudio Echeverri (on loan from Manchester City)
10 MF United States USA Malik Tillman
11 FW France FRA Martin Terrier
12 DF Burkina Faso BFA Edmond Tapsoba
13 DF Brazil BRA Arthur
14 FW Czech Republic CZE Patrik Schick
16 DF France FRA Axel Tape
17 FW Germany GER Farid Alfa-Ruprecht
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 FW Argentina ARG Alejo Sarco
19 FW Netherlands NED Ernest Poku
20 DF Spain ESP Álex Grimaldo
22 FW Nigeria NGA Victor Boniface
23 MF Nigeria NGA Nathan Tella
24 MF Spain ESP Aleix García
25 MF Argentina ARG Exequiel Palacios
28 GK Germany GER Janis Blaswich
30 MF Algeria ALG Ibrahim Maza
35 FW Cameroon CMR Christian Kofane
36 GK Germany GER Niklas Lomb
44 DF France FRA Jeanuël Belocian

Players out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Czech Republic CZE Matěj Kovář (at PSV Eindhoven until 30 June 2026)
— DF Senegal SEN Abdoulaye Faye (at Lorient until 30 June 2026)
— DF Germany GER Tim Oermann (at Sturm Graz until 30 June 2026)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Belgium BEL Noah Mbamba (at Dender EH until 30 June 2026)
— MF Germany GER Francis Onyeka (at VfL Bochum until 30 June 2026)
— FW Ukraine UKR Artem Stepanov (at 1. FC Nürnberg until 30 June 2026)

Transfers

In

Pos. Player Transferred from Fee Date Source
FW Algeria Ibrahim Maza Germany Hertha BSC €12,000,000 1 July 2025 [2]
GK Netherlands Mark Flekken England Brentford €10,000,000 1 July 2025 [3]
DF Senegal Abdoulaye Faye Sweden BK Häcken €2,700,000 1 July 2025 [4]
DF Germany Tim Oermann Germany VfL Bochum €1,800,000 1 July 2025 [5]
DF France Axel Tape France Paris Saint-Germain Free 1 July 2025 [6]
DF England Jarell Quansah England Liverpool €35,000,000 2 July 2025 [7]
FW Cameroon Christian Kofane Spain Albacete €5,000,000 11 July 2025 [8]
MF United States Malik Tillman Netherlands PSV Eindhoven €35,000,000 12 July 2025 [9]
GK Germany Janis Blaswich Germany RB Leipzig €2,000,000 11 August 2025 [10]
FW Netherlands Ernest Poku Netherlands AZ €10,000,000 12 August 2025 [11]
MF Argentina Claudio Echeverri England Manchester City Loan 21 August 2025 [12]
DF France Loïc Badé Spain Sevilla €25,000,000 21 August 2025 [13]

Total expenditure: Decrease €138.5 million (excluding potential add-ons, bonuses and undisclosed figures)

Out

Pos. Player Transferred to Fee Date Source
DF Netherlands Jeremie Frimpong England Liverpool €35,000,000 1 July 2025 [14][15]
DF Germany Jonathan Tah Germany Bayern Munich €800,000 1 June 2025 [16][17]
FW Germany Florian Wirtz England Liverpool €117,500,000 1 July 2025 [18][19]
DF Ivory Coast Odilon Kossounou Italy Atalanta €20,000,000 1 July 2025 [20][21]
MF Colombia Gustavo Puerta England Hull City €3,500,000 1 July 2025 [22][23]
GK Germany Luca Novodomsky Germany TSV Solingen Free 1 July 2025
GK Czech Republic Matěj Kovář Netherlands PSV Eindhoven Loan 15 July 2025 [24]
MF Switzerland Granit Xhaka England Sunderland €15,000,000 30 July 2025 [25][26]
GK Finland Lukas Hradecky France Monaco €2,000,000 8 August 2025 [27]
MF Morocco Amine Adli England Bournemouth €29,000,000 21 August 2025 [28][29]

Total income: Increase €222.8 million (excluding potential add-ons, bonuses and undisclosed figures)

Pre-season and friendlies

The club's pre-season tour to Rio saw them become the first Bundesliga club to stage a pre-season tour in South America, along with also being the first Bundesliga club to open and operate a football academy in Brazil, nicknamed the "Bayer 04 Football Academy São Paulo," led by former Brazilian and Leverkusen forward Paulo Sérgio.[30]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

18 July 2025 Friendly Flamengo U20 Brazil 5–1 Germany Bayer Leverkusen Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
14:35 BRT (UTC−3)
  • Lorran 2'
  • Arthur 10' (o.g.)
  • Gonçalves 39'
  • Pedro Leão 45'
  • Gusttavo 54'
 Report
  • Tape Yellow card 45+1'
  • Culbreath 71'
 Stadium: Estádio da Gávea
Referee: Marcelo Henrique (Brazil)
27 July 2025 Friendly VfL Bochum Germany 0–2 Germany Bayer Leverkusen Bochum
17:00 CEST (UTC+2)
Report
Stadium: Vonovia Ruhrstadion
Attendance: 15,788
Referee: Felix Weller
1 August 2025 Friendly Fortuna Sittard Netherlands 1–2 Germany Bayer Leverkusen Sittard, Netherlands
19:00 CEST (UTC+2)
Report
Stadium: Fortuna Sittard Stadion
Referee: Jannick van der Laan (Netherlands)
5 August 2025 Friendly Bayer Leverkusen Germany 3–0 Italy Pisa Leverkusen
17:00 CEST (UTC+2)
Report
Stadium: BayArena
Attendance: 22,498
Referee: Sascha Stegemann (Germany)
8 August 2025 VisitMalta Weekender Chelsea England 2–0 Germany Bayer Leverkusen London, England
19:00 BST (UTC+1)
Report
Stadium: Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Stuart Attwell (England)

Competitions

Overall record

Competition First match Last match Starting round Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
Bundesliga 23 August 2025 16 May 2026 Matchday 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
DFB-Pokal 15 August 2025 First round 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 100.00
UEFA Champions League 16–18 September 2025 League phase 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
Total 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 100.00

Last updated: 15 August 2025
Source: Soccerway

Bundesliga

Main article: 2025–26 Bundesliga

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
10 1. FC Köln 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 RB Leipzig 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 Bayer Leverkusen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 Mainz 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 Borussia Mönchengladbach 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 22 August 2025. Source: Bundesliga
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored; 6) Away goals scored; 7) Play-off.[31]
(Rules 4–6 only apply after home and away matches have been played between the tied teams.)

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
0 0 0 0 0 0  0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Last updated: pre-season.
Source: Kicker

Results by round

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
GroundHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Result
Position
Points
First match(es) will be played on 22 August 2025. Source: Bundesliga
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The league fixtures were released on 27 June 2025.[32]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

23 August 2025 1 Bayer Leverkusen v TSG Hoffenheim Leverkusen
15:30 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: BayArena
30 August 2025 2 Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen Bremen
15:30 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Weserstadion
12 September 2025 3 Bayer Leverkusen v Eintracht Frankfurt Leverkusen
20:30 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: BayArena
21 September 2025 4 Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Mönchengladbach Leverkusen
17:30 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: BayArena
27 September 2025 5 FC St. Pauli v Bayer Leverkusen Hamburg
15:30 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Millerntor-Stadion
3–5 October 2025 6 Bayer Leverkusen v Union Berlin Leverkusen
CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: BayArena
17–19 October 2025 7 Mainz 05 v Bayer Leverkusen Mainz
CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Mewa Arena
24–26 October 2025 8 Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg Leverkusen
CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: BayArena
31 October – 2 November 2025 9 Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen Munich
CET (UTC+1) Stadium: Allianz Arena
7–9 November 2025 10 Bayer Leverkusen v 1. FC Heidenheim Leverkusen
CET (UTC+1) Stadium: BayArena
21–23 November 2025 11 VfL Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen Wolfsburg
CET (UTC+1) Stadium: Volkswagen Arena
28–30 November 2025 12 Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Dortmund Leverkusen
CET (UTC+1) Stadium: BayArena
5–7 December 2025 13 FC Augsburg v Bayer Leverkusen Augsburg
CET (UTC+1) Stadium: WWK Arena
12–14 December 2025 14 Bayer Leverkusen v 1. FC Köln Leverkusen
CET (UTC+1) Stadium: BayArena
19–21 December 2025 15 RB Leipzig v Bayer Leverkusen Leipzig
CET] (UTC+1) Stadium: Red Bull Arena
9–11 January 2026 16 Bayer Leverkusen v VfB Stuttgart Leverkusen
CET] (UTC+1) Stadium: BayArena
13–15 January 2026 17 Hamburger SV v Bayer Leverkusen Hamburg
CET (UTC+1) Stadium: Volksparkstadion
16–18 January 2026 18 TSG Hoffenheim v Bayer Leverkusen Sinsheim
--:-- CET (UTC+1) Stadium: PreZero Arena
23–25 January 2026 19 Bayer Leverkusen v Werder Bremen Leverkusen
--:-- CET (UTC+1) Stadium: BayArena
30 January – 1 February 2026 20 Eintracht Frankfurt v Bayer Leverkusen Frankfurt
CET (UTC+1) Stadium: Waldstadion
6–8 February 2026 21 Borussia Mönchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen Mönchengladbach
--:-- CET (UTC+1) Stadium: Borussia-Park
13–15 February 2026 22 Bayer Leverkusen v FC St. Pauli Leverkusen
--:-- CET (UTC+1) Stadium: BayArena
20–22 February 2026 23 Union Berlin v Bayer Leverkusen Berlin
--:-- CET (UTC+1) Stadium: Stadion An der Alten Försterei
27 February – 1 March 2026 24 Bayer Leverkusen v Mainz 05 Leverkusen
--:-- CET (UTC+1) Stadium: BayArena
6–8 March 2026 25 SC Freiburg v Bayer Leverkusen Freiburg
--:-- CET (UTC+1) Stadium: Europa-Park Stadion
13–15 March 2026 26 Bayer Leverkusen v Bayern Munich Leverkusen
--:-- CET (UTC+1) Stadium: BayArena
20–22 March 2026 27 1. FC Heidenheim v Bayer Leverkusen Heidenheim
--:-- CET (UTC+1) Stadium: Voith-Arena
4–5 April 2026 28 Bayer Leverkusen v VfL Wolfsburg Leverkusen
--:-- CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: BayArena
10–12 April 2026 29 Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen Dortmund
--:-- CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Signal Iduna Park
17–19 April 2026 30 Bayer Leverkusen v FC Augsburg Leverkusen
--:-- CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: BayArena
24–26 April 2026 31 1. FC Köln v Bayer Leverkusen Cologne
--:-- CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion
1–3 May 2026 32 Bayer Leverkusen v RB Leipzig Leverkusen
--:-- CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: BayArena
8–10 May 2026 33 VfB Stuttgart v Bayer Leverkusen Stuttgart
--:-- CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: MHPArena
16 May 2026 34 Bayer Leverkusen v Hamburger SV Leverkusen
15:30 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: BayArena

DFB-Pokal

Main article: 2025–26 DFB-Pokal

The first round draw was held on 15 June 2025.[33]

15 August 2025 First round Sonnenhof Großaspach 0–4 Bayer Leverkusen Aspach
18:00 CEST (UTC+2)
  • Kleinschrodt Yellow card 61'
  • Çeliktaş Yellow card 64' Yellow-red card 66'
  • Tasdelen Red card
 Report
Stadium: WIRmachenDRUCK Arena
Attendance: 8,850
Referee: Micheal Bacher

UEFA Champions League

Main article: 2025–26 UEFA Champions League

League phase

Main article: 2025–26 UEFA Champions League league phase

The league phase draw will be held on 28 August 2025.[34]

Round12345678
Ground
Result
Position
Points
First match(es) will be played on 16–18 September 2025. Source: UEFA
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
16–18 September 2025 1 v
TBD
30 September – 1 October 2025 2 v
TBD
21–22 October 2025 3 v
TBD
4–5 November 2025 4 v
TBD
25–26 November 2025 5 v
TBD
9–10 December 2025 6 v
TBD
20–21 January 2026 7 v
TBD
28 January 2026 8 v
TBD

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No. Pos Nat Player Total Bundesliga DFB-Pokal Champions League
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Goalkeepers
1 GK Netherlands NED Mark Flekken 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
28 GK Germany GER Janis Blaswich 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
36 GK Germany GER Niklas Lomb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Defenders
3 DF Ecuador ECU Piero Hincapié 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
4 DF England ENG Jarell Quansah 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
5 DF France FRA Loïc Badé 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 DF Burkina Faso BFA Edmond Tapsoba 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
13 DF Brazil BRA Arthur 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
16 DF France FRA Axel Tape 1 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0
20 DF Spain ESP Álex Grimaldo 1 1 0 0 0+1 1 0 0
44 DF France FRA Jeanuël Belocian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Midfielders
7 MF Germany GER Jonas Hofmann 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 MF Germany GER Robert Andrich 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
9 MF Argentina ARG Claudio Echeverri 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 MF France FRA Martin Terrier 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 MF Nigeria NGA Nathan Tella 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
24 MF Spain ESP Aleix García 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
25 MF Argentina ARG Exequiel Palacios 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Forwards
14 FW Czech Republic CZE Patrik Schick 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
17 FW Germany GER Farid Alfa-Ruprecht 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 FW Netherlands NED Ernest Poku 1 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0
22 FW Nigeria NGA Victor Boniface 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 FW Algeria ALG Ibrahim Maza 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
35 FW Cameroon CMR Christian Kofane 1 1 0 0 0+1 1 0 0
Players transferred out during the season
21 MF Morocco MAR Amine Adli 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Last updated: 15 August 2025
Source: Competitions

Goalscorers

Assists

References

  1. ^ "Official Announcement: Xabi Alonso". Real Madrid CF. 25 May 2025.
  2. ^ "Bayer 04 sign Maza from Hertha Berlin". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 1 May 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  3. ^ "Bayer 04 sign Netherlands keeper Mark Flekken from Brentford". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 3 June 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Bayer 04 sign Senegalese central defender Faye". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  5. ^ "Bayer 04 sign defender Oermann from VfL Bochum". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 29 May 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  6. ^ "Bayer 04 sign French top talent Axel Tape from PSG". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 11 June 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  7. ^ "U21 Euros winner Jarell Quansah joins Bayer 04 from Liverpool". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 2 July 2025. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  8. ^ "Bayer 04 sign striker Christian Kofane from Albacete". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  9. ^ "USA international Malik Tillman joins Bayer 04 from PSV". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 12 July 2025. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Bayer 04 sign goalkeeper Janis Blaswich from Leipzig". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Bayer 04 sign Netherlands U21 international Poku from Alkmaar". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 12 August 2025. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Bayer 04 sign midfield gem Echeverri on loan from Manchester City". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 21 August 2025. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  13. ^ "French central defender Badé joins Bayer 04 from Sevilla". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 21 August 2025. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  14. ^ "Liverpool agree signing of Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen". Liverpool F.C. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  15. ^ "Liverpool sign Frimpong from Leverkusen for £29.5m". BBC Sport. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  16. ^ "FC Bayern sign Jonathan Tah". FC Bayern Munich. 29 May 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  17. ^ "So...what did Bayern Munich pay Bayer Leverkusen to get Jonathan Tah early? We might know". Bavarian Football Works. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  18. ^ "Liverpool agree signing of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen". Liverpool F.C. 20 June 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  19. ^ "Liverpool sign Leverkusen's Wirtz in £116m deal". BBC Sport. 20 June 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  20. ^ "Odilon Kossounou is 100% Nerazzurro". Atalanta BC. 13 June 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  21. ^ "Official: Atalanta secure Kossounou discount at €20m". Football Italia. 13 June 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Puerta Clause Activated". Hull City A.F.C. 19 April 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  23. ^ "Official: Bayer Leverkusen's Gustavo Puerta joins Hull City". Get Football News Germany. 20 April 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  24. ^ "Transfer - Goalkeeper Matěj Kovář signs with PSV, Joël Drommel leaves training camp". PSV Eindhoven. 15 July 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  25. ^ "SAFC sign Granit Xhaka!". Sunderland A.F.C. 30 July 2025. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  26. ^ "Sunderland sign Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Xhaka". BBC Sport. 30 July 2025. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  27. ^ "Lukas Hradecký is Monégasque!". AS Monaco FC. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  28. ^ "Highly-rated winger Adli joins the Cherries". A.F.C. Bournemouth. 21 August 2025. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  29. ^ "Bournemouth sign midfielder Adli for £25m". BBC Sport. 21 August 2025. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  30. ^ "Bayer Leverkusen in Brazil for pre-season tour". Bundesliga. 18 July 2025.
  31. ^ "DFL–Spielordnung (SpOL)" [Match rules] (PDF) (in German). Deutsche Fußball Liga. 29 May 2025. p. 3. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  32. ^ "Veröffentlichung der Spielpläne für die Saison 2025/26". dfl.de (in German). DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga. 2 June 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  33. ^ "Owen Ansah lost erste Pokalrunde am 15. Juni aus". DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  34. ^ "2025/26 Champions League: Format, dates, draws, final". UEFA. 1 April 2025. Archived from the original on 29 April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
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