“Bayer 04 is a club with an impressive history and ambitious targets," said Xhaka at his signing. The Swiss midfielder played for Arsenal for seven years before moving on to Bayer Leverkusen. This is the fourth club for the 6' 1" central midfielder in his professional career.
Xhaka joined the youth section at FC Basel at the age of eleven and he moved up to the first team squad in the 2010/2011 season. He twice won the league title with the top Swiss club and also made his debut in the Champions League and the Europa League.
He moved to the Bundesliga at the age of 20 with his first experience in a top European league at Borussia Mönchengladbach. He made 140 appearances for the Foals. Four years later, Xhaka followed the call of the Premier League but he never lost contact with German football: "I know the Bundesliga inside out and I always watched it from London."
plenty of expereince en route to Leverkusen
Xhaka made 297 appearances for Arsenal across all competitions. The Swiss player soon established himself as a first choice with the Gunners, as he had done in Mönchengladbach, and he quickly became a key player in central midfield.
Even after seven years in London, Xhaka was still one of the key players in an otherwise young North London side. With 16 goal involvements in the last Premier League season – the best season of his career in that respect – the otherwise more defensively minded 30-year-old made an important contribution to Arsenal finishing runners-up and thereby qualifying for the Champions League again after seven years. The midfield maestro arrives in Leverkusen with plenty of experience.
Over the course of his career, the Swiss midfielder has again and again proved one thing: What it means to accept responsibility. His experience as a leader on the pitch paid off with him being the captain at Borussia Mönchengladbach and Arsenal for three years at each club. Granit has also been captain of the Switzerland team since 2018 and he has the second highest number of international caps for his country with 115 to date.
And Simon Rolfes, Bayer 04 sporting managing director, is aware of Xhaka's qualities: “"His ability on the pitch is well known. But, above all, there are few players who are able to so convincingly lead a team like he does thanks to his outstanding mentality and personality.”
Xhaka is looking forward to the new chapter under the Bayer Cross: "I see Bayer 04 now as a club with a great future. Discussions with the management have been incredibly motivating. Everybody here is ambitious and wants to achieve something.” Exactly as the Swiss infielder does.
The international break produced a full range of emotions for Bayer 04’s women. While four Leverkusen players were in play-off action to try and reach the World Cup, including two important goals, there were others in friendly action. Here’s a round-up of all the results…
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The NB Vintage Collection is here and available now! Members enjoy an exclusive priority purchase period (online shop only). Non-members will then be able to purchase items from Saturday 17 October (10:00 CEST). Sales will also begin at the same time at the Bayer 04 Fanwelt.
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Intercultural exchange: a youth team from Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso, visited Leverkusen in the last few days. The players and staff from AD DUHA FC enjoyed a varied programme including training, a friendly - and a very special experience on Saturday afternoon.
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There will be a change at the top of the Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH shareholder committee at the end of the year, with Werner Wenning stepping down from the Bundesliga club's control committee on 31 December 2026. Wolfgang Nickl, who has been part of the committee since March of this year, will take over the chairmanship on 1 January 2027.
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