The captain of the U20 national side won the World Cup in 2014 with Germany and at Leverkusen she became a prospect for the full international side. She received her first call-up to the Germany squad in September 2015.
In the current campaign, the goalscoring defender and key player for the Werkself Women (three Bundesliga goals for Bayer 04), including her last-minute winner in the 2-1 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach, made a significant contribution to one of the two Leverkusen wins this season
Knaak, who is studying psychology at the University of Cologne, wants to give 100 per cent for Bayer 04 right to the end as she made clear: "I've always felt really at home at Leverkusen and I'm very grateful for my time here where I’ve developed really well in personal and sporting terms thanks to the great confidence shown by the club. I believe a new sporting challenge is the right step for my development and I'm looking forward to it. Until then we will give our all in our aim of staying up."
Head coach Thomas Obliers: "Her transfer is a loss for us both on a human and sporting level. Rebecca Knaak has always given 100 per cent for Bayer 04 and now she wants to take the next step so we wish you much success and, above all health, and fitness."
Linda Peckhaus, head of Women's football: "Rebecca Knaak joined us when she was very young and has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, above all on a personal level. We are proud that Rebecca, at the age of 20, is already one of the most experienced players who bears a lot of responsibility. We'd like to thank her for her commitment over the past four years and wish her every success in the future."
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-0 win at SGS Essen on the 24th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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After matchday 31 and the 2-1 derby win in Cologne, one thing is certain: Bayer 04 will at least compete in the UEFA Europa League in the coming 2026/27 campaign. But the Werkself want more. Looking at the race for Champions League qualification and the remaining three league fixtures, including against direct rivals, bayer04.de outlines the possible scenarios in the season run-in.
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This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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