“Vanessa has demonstrated her quality and efficiency in finishing at an impressive rate over several years. She has also played in all league games in the past two seasons,” said Bayer 04 Women sporting director Achim Feifel. “At 23, she still has great development potential and can be deployed in all positions in attack. That makes her a very good fit for our philosophy.”
Born in Nuremberg, Fudalla has scored 69 goals in 107 competitive matches for Leipzig since 2020. She was promoted to the Bundesliga with the club in 2023 as top scorer in the second division (20 goals). She has scored 10 goals in each of the past two seasons. The 23-year-old also has one goal in four caps for Germany’s U23s.
“After five years at Leipzig, it's time for me to take on a new challenge. Leverkusen has always been a very attractive club for me,” said Fudalla. “When the people in charge got in touch, I didn't have to think twice. The development of the past season in particular shows that a lot is possible here. I would like to play a part in this and strengthen the team with my qualities.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have given offensive player Paulina Bartz a long-term contract. The 20-year-old has penned a new deal to 30 June 2027.
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Germany international Florian Wirtz has been voted Bayer 04 ‘Player of the Season’ for the second time in a row. The 21-year-old, who will play for Premier League champions Liverpool next season, received more than half of all votes cast in the annual poll organised by Bayer 04.
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Top scorer Cornelia Kramer has been voted Bayer 04 Women's 'Player of the Season’ after her first year in Black and Red. The Denmark international follows in the footsteps of former captain Elisa Senß, who won the fan poll in both 2022/23 and 2023/24. With more than 1,400 votes cast, Kramer just edged teammate Karolina Lea Vilhjalmsdottir into second place.
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The 2023/24 double-winning season set new standards. Bayer 04 faced a number of challenges not only in sporting terms, but also operationally due to the increased number of enquiries. Unfortunately, the service provided was not always exemplary. In the meantime, however, the club has gone through a restructuring process. In recent months, not only have many organisational matters been initiated, but technical components have also been further developed - with a clear goal: to provide fast, competent and comprehensive help and information. Personal service has always been important to Bayer 04. And it has now been significantly optimised.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will begin their 2025-26 preseason campaign with an exciting friendly against Flamengo U20, one of South America’s elite youth sides, on Thursday, 18 July at 15:00 local time (20:00 CEST). The game will be played at historic Estádio da Gávea in Rio de Janeiro.
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