The team, which spent 223 million euros, won the Bundesliga for the first time in history
In its 120-year history, Bayer Leverkusen has won only two trophies – the UEFA Cup in 1988 and the German Cup in 1993. In the Bundesliga, the club’s most successful season was the 2001/02 season, when the team claimed three trophies, but 11 days lost everything. It was then that Bayer acquired the offensive nickname “neverkusen” – literally “neverkusen”.
Xabi Alonso changed everything. The legendary defender of Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern and the Spanish national team managed to win the Champions League, Euro (2008 and 2012) and the World Cup (2010) during his career, and in 2017 he became a coach. Alonso started with the Real Madrid children’s team, then he was the reserve team of Real Sociedad, and in the fall of 2022 the Spaniard was called to save Bayer, which failed at the beginning of the season (one win in eight matches). Under Alonso, the team played more interestingly and effectively, rose to sixth place in the German championship and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League.
Bayer spent the 2023/24 season even more powerful. The team repeated Juventus’s record for the number of matches in a row without defeat (43) and, five rounds before the end of the tournament, became the Bundesliga champion. In addition, the club did not lose its chances for other trophies. In the German Cup final, Xabi Alonso’s team will play against Kaiserslautern; in the first match of the Europa League quarterfinals, Bayer beat the English West Ham (2:0).
The championship squad was assembled by Bayer sports director Simon Rolfes and head of scouting Tim Steidten (who moved to West Ham in the spring of 2023) painstakingly and rationally. The club spent 223 million euros to purchase all the players played in the 2023/24 season. For comparison: Harry Kane alone cost Bayern 95 million.
Before the season, Transfer markt valued Bayer’s squad at 434 million euros, now the value has increased by 37% – to 594 million.
Hope of Germany
Bayer’s main star is 20-year-old attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz. He played for 10 years for Cologne’s youth teams, but in January 2020 he moved to nearby Leverkusen for €200,000. Transfer markt didn’t even have Wirtz’s profile at that time, but six months later the service valued him at 8 million euros.
Wirtz made his debut for the Bayer main team a few months later, and in the 2021/22 season he became one of the discoveries of the German championship, making it into the symbolic team of the tournament. He had seven goals and 10 assists.
The national team had high hopes for Wirtz; in the spring of 2022, the midfielder tore his cruciate ligaments and missed the World Cup in Qatar, where Germany did not make it out of the group.
Wirtz was approached by Bayern, Barcelona and Real Madrid, but a serious injury scared off potential buyers. Difficulties did not break Florian – he returned to the field, retaining his best qualities. And with the arrival of Alonso at Bayer, the midfielder’s play became even brighter. Wirtz was freed from menial work and allowed to take more risks. According to Opta, by February Florian had made 150 aggravating passes in Bundesliga matches, becoming one of the leaders in this indicator. In all competitions for Bayer this season, Wirtz scored 17 goals and provided 18 assists, scoring a hat-trick in the championship match against Werder Bremen. Transfer markt values Florian at 110 million euros; in the ranking of the most expensive football players in the world, the German ranks 7th.
During the season, information appeared in the media more than once about interest in the Bayer midfielder from Bayern, Real Madrid, and Manchester United. The German press writes that the transfer may take place no earlier than the summer of 2025. Wirtz intends to spend the next season in Leverkusen.
The German national team, which dreams of success at home Euro 2022, also hopes for Wirtz. “Florian’s most valuable qualities are creativity and courage in handling the ball,” head coach of the German national team Julian Nagelsmann told the website of the German Football Association in November 2023. “He is very hardworking, runs many kilometers in matches for Bayer…. In He is a little more shy in the national team environment than in his club, but that is not a problem. We need players like him and [Jamal] Musiala (Bavaria midfielder – Vedomosti.Sport).”
Wirtz played 16 matches for the national team, and on March 23, 2024, he scored his debut goal for the national team (France).
Locker room leaders
Bayer has many promising talented players, but without experienced players, Xabi Alonso would hardly be able to succeed.
The Bayer goal is defended by 34-year-old Finn Lukas Hradecki. He came to Leverkusen in the summer of 2018 as a free agent (i.e. for free) from Eintracht Frankfurt. And in February, the British magazine Four Four Two ranked Hradecki in sixth place in the ranking of the best goalkeepers at the moment: in 14 of 28 matches of the current German championship, he did not miss a goal.
In the summer of 2023, two more important players joined the Bayer squad. 31-year-old Jonas Hofmann was signed from Borussia Monchengladbach for 10 million euros. The experienced winger has scored five goals and provided nine assists this season in the Bundesliga.
Granit Xhaka was bought from Arsenal for 15 million euros. It seemed that the 31-year-old midfielder of the Swiss national team was going to finish his game at Bayer. In recent years, his game discipline has been poor – Xhaka could easily receive a red card for an emotional reaction or make a mistake in a simple episode. At Bayer, the defensive midfielder transformed himself and successfully took on the important role of linking defense and attack. According to Transfer markt, Xhaka has touched the ball 1,211 times this season, fifth most in Europe.
Sharp wings
Full-backs play an important role in the game that Xabi Alonso is building. Dutchman Jeremy Frimpong and Spaniard Alejandro Grimaldo not only defend successfully, but also threaten the opponents’ goal. Between them, they scored 23 goals and provided 27 assists this season.
Frimpong went through all the Manchester City youth teams, but did not get a chance in the first team and left for Celtic in 2019. Jeremy performed well in the Scottish Championship and in January 2021 he was promoted to Bayer, they paid 11 million euros for him.
The Dutchman adapted quickly to the new team. At the start of the 2022/23 season, Jeremy even became the team’s top scorer, scoring four goals in 10 matches. At the same time, information first appeared about interest in him from Manchester United and Real Madrid. In March 2023, German media reported that Bayern were considering the possibility of acquiring Frimpong. According to Sky Sport Germany, the release clause for the 23-year-old player is 40-45 million euros. Transfer markt values him at 50 million euros.
Grimaldo’s career developed according to a similar scenario. The Barcelona graduate was unable to join his home team and left for Benfica in January 2016 to practice. The Spaniard spent seven full seasons in Lisbon, and in the summer of 2023 he went to Bayer Leverkusen, who got him for free. Transfer markt values 28-year-old Grimaldo at €45 million.
Stronghold of Defense
The central defenders are responsible for Bayer’s successful defensive play (a total of 19 goals conceded in 29 matches, the next most reliable indicator is 33 for Leipzig). 28-year-old Jonathan Ta is one of the main old-timers of the team. He moved to Leverkusen from Hamburg in 2015 for a modest €9 million. Since then, he has become a Germany international and his transfer fee has tripled. In the winter, Chelsea was asking the price of Ta.
Ecuadorian Piero Incapie became one of Bayer’s most important transfer successes. In the summer of 2021, he was bought from the modest Argentine club Talleres for 6.35 million euros. Incapie adapted to European football quite quickly, makes almost no mistakes and is now worth 35 million euros.
For Odillon Kossouna in the summer of 2021, Bayer paid Brugge 23 million euros. The Ivorian took a long time to get used to the new league. In some matches his actions looked chaotic, but over time Cossunu came into his own and became an important player in Alonso’s tactical scheme. Odillon is now valued at 35 million euros.
Another important player in the center of defense was bought in the last days of the 2020 winter transfer window from the Portuguese Vitoria. Even then, Edmond Tapsoba was considered one of the most promising football players in his role. Bayer paid 20 million euros for the Burkina Faso national team player, now he is worth twice as much.
Scout finds
When Stefan Kissling, who scored 344 goals in 12 years at Bayer Leverkusen, retired in 2018, the club tried to find a replacement. At first it didn’t work out very well: the Iranian Serdar Azmoun and the Czech Patrik Schick did not become stable goal scorers. The problem was solved by the purchase of forward Victor Boniface from the Belgian Union for 20 million euros in the summer of 2023. This season, the Nigerian scored 18 goals for Bayer Leverkusen, providing 10 assists. Transfer markt values him at 40 million euros.
Another example of the competent work of Bayer’s scouts is the purchase of central midfielder Ezekiel Palacios. In January 2020, the Argentine River Plate paid 17 million euros for the player. Since then, he has gained a foothold not only in Bayer Leverkusen, but also in the Argentina national team, with which he became the world champion in 2022. In the 2023/24 season, Palacios played 29 matches for Bayer Leverkusen, scoring five and providing five assists. Now the Argentinean is valued at 40 million euros.
Xabi Alonso was sent to Bayern and Liverpool for the next season, but the Spaniard decided to stay in Leverkusen. His contract runs until the summer of 2026. “Over the year we have created a great atmosphere in the team,” Alonso explained to Eurosport. “I feel like I’m part of this team.” I don’t think this is the right time to leave, and that’s why I’m staying.” This should help the club retain its championship squad.
