Melanie Leupolz

Melanie Leupolz
Leupolz playing for Germany in 2023
Personal information
Full name Melanie Leupolz[1]
Date of birth (1994-04-14) 14 April 1994
Place of birth Wangen im Allgäu, Germany
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position Midfielder
Youth career
TSV Ratzenried
–2010 TSV Tettnang
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2014 Freiburg 75 (13)
2014–2020 Bayern Munich 99 (12)
2020–2024 Chelsea 44 (6)
2024–2025 Real Madrid 17 (0)
International career
2009 Germany U15 5 (1)
2009–2011 Germany U17 5 (7)
2011–2013 Germany U19 12 (4)
2012 Germany U20 8 (4)
2013–2023 Germany 79 (13)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Germany
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2016 Rio de JaneiroTeam
UEFA Women's Championship
Gold medal – first place2013 Sweden
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Melanie Leupolz (born 14 April 1994) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.[2]

Leupolz played for SC Freiburg and Bayern Munich in Germany's 2. Frauen-Bundesliga/Frauen-Bundesliga, Chelsea in England's Women's Super League, and Real Madrid in Spain's Liga F. Between 2013 and 2023, she played for the Germany national team.

Club career

SC Freiburg

Having spent her youth career with TSV Ratzenried and TSV Tettnang,[3][4] Leupolz joined 2. Frauen-Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in 2010.[5]

Following success in the 2010–11 season, Freiburg was promoted to the Frauen-Bundesliga, the top tier of German women's football, for the 2011–12 season.[6] Leupolz made her Bundesliga debut, and scored her first Bundesliga goal, on 21 August 2011 in a 2–2 away draw against SC 07 Bad Neuenahr.

Bayern Munich

In 2014, she joined fellow Bundesliga club Bayern Munich.[7] She made her club debut on 31 August 2014 in a 1–1 draw against 1. FFC Frankfurt, then scored her first goal for the club in a 4–0 win over Bayer 04 Leverkusen on 2 October 2014.

In her first two seasons with Bayern, Leupolz won back-to-back Bundesliga titles.[8][9]

In 2018, she extended her contract with the club until 2020.[10] Leupolz captained Bayern during her time at the club.[7][11]

Chelsea

On 23 March 2020, Leupolz signed for Chelsea in the Women's Super League.[12] In August, she won the FA Community Shield, her first title with Chelsea.[13] On 13 September, she scored her first goal for the club in a 9–0 win over Bristol City.[14]

On 16 May 2021, Leupolz featured in her first Champions League final; Chelsea lost 4–0 to Barcelona.[15]

On 7 March 2022, it was announced that Leupolz was pregnant and would not feature in the rest of the season's fixtures. Chelsea pledged the support of their medical team.[16]

In January 2023, following her return from maternity leave, Leupolz signed a new contract with Chelsea which would run until 2026.[17] She returned to play three months after giving birth to her son, and was part of the side that won the Women's Super League and FA Cup titles that season.[18]

Real Madrid

On 3 July 2024, Leupolz signed with Liga F side Real Madrid.[19]

In June 2025, she announced her retirement from play, ending her contract with the club which was originally set to run until 2026.[20][21]

International career

Youth

As part of the Germany under-17 squad, Leupolz competed at the 2010 U-17 World Cup and scored two goals against South Africa.[22]

She was the team's captain for the 2011 U-17 European Championship. Leupolz missed the final penalty during the semifinal penalty shootout against France.[23]

Senior

On 19 June 2013, Leupolz made her debut for Germany's senior national team in a 1–0 win over Canada.[5] The following day she was named to Germany's Euro 2013 squad.[24] On 28 July 2013, Germany beat Norway 1–0 to secure their sixth consecutive Euro title.[25]

She was part of the squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio where Germany won the gold medal.[26]

At the 2019 World Cup, Leupolz scored a goal in Germany's 4–0 win over South Africa, her first national goal since the 2016 Olympics.[27]

In September 2023, Leupolz announced her international retirement.[28]

Personal life

As of 2021, Leupolz was studying towards a master’s degree in Psychology, Leadership and Management.[29]

In 2022, it was announced that Leupolz was expecting her first child.[16] She gave birth to her son in October 2022, and made her first start after her pregnancy in March 2023.[30][31]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 May 2025[32]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental[c] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
SC Freiburg 2010–11 2. Frauen-Bundesliga 16 6 0 0 — — — 17 6
2011–12 Frauen-Bundesliga 20 3 1 0 — — — 21 3
2012–13 Frauen-Bundesliga 21 3 3 0 — — — 24 3
2013–14 Frauen-Bundesliga 18 1 4 1 — — — 22 2
Total 75 13 8 1 — — — 83 14
Bayern Munich 2014–15 Frauen-Bundesliga 22 4 2 1 — — — 24 5
2015–16 Frauen-Bundesliga 17 2 4 0 — 2 1 — 23 3
2016–17 Frauen-Bundesliga 10 0 1 2 — 1 2 — 12 4
2017–18 Frauen-Bundesliga 19 0 4 1 — 2 0 — 25 1
2018–19 Frauen-Bundesliga 11 0 4 0 — 5 1 — 20 1
2019–20 Frauen-Bundesliga 20 6 1 0 — 3 0 — 24 6
Total 99 12 16 4 — 13 4 — 128 20
Chelsea 2020–21 FA WSL 19 5 1 0 4 2 7 1 1[d] 0 32 8
2021–22 WSL 7 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 — 13 1
2022–23 WSL 7 0 4 0 2 0 4 0 — 17 0
2023–24 WSL 11 1 4 0 2 0 4 0 — 21 1
Total 44 6 9 0 8 2 21 2 1 0 83 10
Real Madrid 2024–25 Liga F 17 0 1 0 0 0 8 1 1[e] 0 27 1
Total 17 0 1 0 0 0 8 1 1 0 27 1
Career total 235 31 34 5 8 2 42 7 2 0 321 45

International

As of 24 July 2023[33]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Germany 2013101
2014123
2015173
201691
201720
201850
2019102
202051
202152
202340
Total7913
Leupolz during a match with Germany in 2021
Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Leupolz goal.
List of international goals scored by Melanie Leupolz[33]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
121 September 2013Cottbus, Germany Russia6–09–02015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
25 April 2014Dublin, Ireland Republic of Ireland3–23–22015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
310 April 2014Mannheim, Germany Slovenia1–04–02015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
48 May 2014Osnabrück, Germany Slovakia7–09–12015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
58 April 2015Fürth, Germany Brazil3–04–0Friendly
615 June 2015Winnipeg, Canada Thailand1–04–02015 FIFA Women's World Cup
718 September 2015Halle, Germany Hungary11–012–0UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying
83 August 2016São Paulo, Brazil Zimbabwe5–06–12016 Summer Olympics
917 June 2019Montpellier, France South Africa1–04–02019 FIFA Women's World Cup
105 October 2019Aachen, Germany Ukraine7–08–0UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying
1122 September 2020Podgorica, Montenegro Montenegro2–03–0UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying
1221 September 2021Chemnitz, Germany Serbia5–15–12023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
1330 November 2021Faro, Portugal Portugal3–03–12023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Honours

Bayern Munich

Chelsea

Germany U-20

Germany

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 – List of Players: Germany" (PDF). FIFA. 7 July 2019. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  2. ↑ Rampling, Ali (13 June 2025). "Former Chelsea, Germany midfielder Melanie Leupolz announces retirement". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  3. ↑ "Melanie Leupolz". www.tsv-ratzenried.de. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  4. ↑ "Leupolz: Equal Pay demands 'not appropriate' for women's football". www.goal.com. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  5. 1 2 Juchem, Markus; Holyman, Ian (15 July 2013). "Rise from fan to first team complete for Leupolz". UEFA.com. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  6. ↑ "2. Frauen-Bundesliga Süd heute | Spielplan & Ergebnisse | 22. Spieltag | 2010/11". kicker (in German). Archived from the original on 21 February 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  7. 1 2 Tigwell, Reiss (3 March 2021). "Melanie Leupolz: Germany can learn from English league". dw.com. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "Münchnerinnen sind Frauenfußball-Meister!". kicker.de (in German). 10 May 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "FCB women crowned Bundesliga champions - FC Bayern München AG". FC Bayern München. 1 May 2016. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "Melanie Leupolz verlängert beim FC Bayern München". fcbayern.com (in German). 18 December 2018.
  11. ↑ Wrack, Suzanne (23 March 2020). "'Statement of intent': Chelsea Women land Germany's Melanie Leupolz". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Full interview: Melanie Leupolz signs for Chelsea". chelseafc.com. 23 March 2020.
  13. ↑ "Chelsea Women 2–0 Manchester City Women". BBC Sport. 29 August 2020.
  14. ↑ "Nine goals - nine different scorers! Chelsea thrash Bristol City". BBC Sport. 13 September 2020.
  15. ↑ "Women's Champions League: Barcelona gewinnt 4:0 gegen Chelsea" (in German). UEFA. 16 May 2021.
  16. 1 2 "Chelsea Women's update on Melanie Leupolz". www.chelseafc.com.
  17. ↑ "Chelsea transfer news: German midfielder Melanie Leupolz signs new deal after returning from maternity leave". Sky Sports. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  18. ↑ "'I couldn't really speak about it' - a decision dividing the Women's Super League". BBC Sport Insights. 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  19. ↑ "Leupolz becomes Real Madrid's third signing ahead of 2024/25 campaign". Real Madrid CF. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  20. ↑ Rampling, Ali (13 June 2025). "Former Chelsea, Germany midfielder Melanie Leupolz announces retirement". The Athletic. Archived from the original on 2 July 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  21. ↑ "Vertrag bei Real aufgelöst: Leupolz beendet ihre Karriere" (in German). Kicker. 13 June 2025.
  22. ↑ "FIFA Player Statistics: Melanie LEUPOLZ". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "Germany 2–2 France (5–6p)". UEFA. 28 July 2011.
  24. ↑ "Neid turns to youth for Germany". UEFA. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  25. ↑ Burke, Chris (28 July 2013). "Angerer the hero as Germany make it six in a row". UEFA.com. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  26. ↑ "Gold for Germany as Neid finishes in style". fifa.com. 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016.
  27. ↑ "Germany beats South Africa 4-0 to win World Cup group". Fox Sports. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  28. ↑ "Melanie Leupolz beendet Karriere in der Nationalmannschaft". dfb.de. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  29. ↑ "Getting to know Chelsea Women: Melanie Leupolz". www.chelseafc.com. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  30. ↑ Marsh, Charlotte (8 March 2023). "Chelsea midfielder Melanie Leupolz discusses her pregnancy journey as a professional footballer". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  31. ↑ "Emma Hayes urges pregnancy support in WSL as Melanie Leupolz makes Chelsea start". BBC Sport. 8 March 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  32. ↑ "Germany - M. Leupolz - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  33. 1 2 "Melanie Leupolz". dfb.de. 18 September 2021.
  34. 1 2 3 4 "M. Leupolz". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  35. ↑ "Algarve Cup 2014: Analysing Final Results and Scores for Women's Soccer". Bleacher Report. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
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