Estrella Merino Gonzalez signs contract extension to 2026

“Estrella has already proven her suitability for the Bundesliga at a very young age and has established herself as a valuable option for our attack,” said Achim Feifel, Bayer 04 Women sporting director. “With the momentum from her good debut season, she will take many more steps in her development with us in the coming months.”

The 17-year-old recently competed at the European Championships in Lithuania with Germany’s U19s, playing in all three group matches. Last season, the German-Spanish forward made her debut in the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga (16 appearances) and scored her first goal at the age of 16. The striker, who signed her first professional contract in January 2023, has played for Bayer 04 since 2017 and progressed through the youth teams from U13 to U17 level. She led the U17s to the Bundesliga title as top scorer in 2022/23.

“When I came to Leverkusen at the age of 11, it was my dream to play for the women's team one day. My 11-year-old self would be jumping for joy now,” said Merino Gonzalez. “I'm happy to be a young player on the pitch with many of my friends and to be developing step by step.”