Having graduated fromBayer Leverkusen's youth academy in 2016, Havertz made his senior debut with the club in the same year. Upon his debut, Havertz became the club's youngest-ever debutant in theBundesliga, and he became their youngest-ever goalscorer when he scored his first goal the following year. Havertz holds the record for being the youngest player to reach 50 and 100 league appearances in the German top flight.
After appearing for Germany at various youth levels, Havertz made his senior international debut in September 2018, becoming the first player born in 1999 to represent the national team. He represented Germany at two editions of the UEFA European Championships (2020 and2024), as well as the2022 FIFA World Cup, scoring two goals in each tournament he has played in.
Kai Lukas Havertz[3] was born on 11 June 1999[4] inAachen, North Rhine-Westphalia.[5] He grew up in Mariadorf, a district ofAlsdorf.[6] Later, the family moved to Aachen.[7] His father Ralf is a policeman and his mother Anne is a lawyer.[8]
Havertz received his first experience in football at the age of four when he joined amateur club Alemannia Mariadorf, where his grandfather, Richard, was chairman of the club.[10] In 2009, he was signed by2. Bundesliga clubAlemannia Aachen where he spent only a year in the club's academy before joining Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 11.[11] In the years that followed, he had to overcome the challenges associated with growth spurts and in 2016, after scoring 18 goals for the club's U-17 team, he was awarded the silver U-17Fritz Walter Medal before breaking into Leverkusen's senior team the following year.[10][12][13]
Havertz made his debut for Bayer Leverkusen on 15 October 2016, coming on as a second-halfsubstitute forCharles Aránguiz in a 2–1 Bundesliga loss toWerder Bremen. Upon entering the field of play, he became the club's youngest-ever Bundesliga debutant, at the age of 17 years and 126 days, although his record was broken (by 111 days) byFlorian Wirtz in 2020.[11][14][15] On 17 February 2017, heassisted teammateKarim Bellarabi to score the 50,000th Bundesliga goal.[16] Four days later, following the suspension of teammateHakan Çalhanoğlu, he was handed his firstChampions League start in the first leg of a round of 16 loss toAtlético Madrid.[17][18] He was ruled out of the return leg of the fixture in March, however, as the match clashed with the examinations period at his school.[19] He scored his first goal for the club on 2 April, netting a late equaliser in a 3–3 draw withVfL Wolfsburg.[20] Upon doing so, Havertz broke another club record to become Leverkusen's youngest-ever goalscorer in the Bundesliga, at the age of 17.[21] He ultimately made 28 appearances across all competitions and scored four goals, including a brace againstHertha BSC on the final day of the season, as Leverkusen ended the campaign in 12th position.[22]
On 14 April 2018, Havertz became the youngest player in the history of the Bundesliga to reach 50 appearances at 18 years and 307 days old, breaking the record previously held byTimo Werner, who also later joined Havertz in the summer of 2020.[23][24] He went on to end his second full campaign with the club with 30 league appearances and three goals to his name as Leverkusen ended the season in fifth place.[25]
Havertz continued to impress during the following season, despite Leverkusen initially struggling in the league, and by the mid-way point of the campaign was the only player to have started every match for the club, scoring six goals along the way.[26] On 20 September 2018, Havertz scored his first two goals in European competitions in a 3–2 win againstLudogorets Razgrad in the2018–19 UEFA Europa League.[27] On 26 January 2019, he became Leverkusen's youngest-everpenalty scorer when he scored from the spot in a 3–0 league win over Wolfsburg, aged 19 years, seven months and 16 days.[28] The following month, he became the second youngest-ever player to achieve 75 Bundesliga appearances, behindJulian Draxler, when he started and scored in a 2–0 win overFortuna Düsseldorf.[29] On 13 April, he scored on his 100th appearance for Leverkusen to help the club to a 1–0 league win overVfB Stuttgart. The goal, his 13th for the campaign, also saw him become the youngest player since Stuttgart's ownHorst Köppel in1967–68 to score 13 goals in a single league season.[30] On 5 May, he scored his 15th goal of the campaign during a 6–1 win overEintracht Frankfurt; a match which for the first time ever saw seven goals scored in the first half of a Bundesliga match.[31] On the final day of the season, he became the highest scoring teenager in a single Bundesliga campaign when he scored his 17th goal during a 5–1 win over Hertha BSC.[32] At the end of the season, he was named runner-up toMarco Reus for theGerman Footballer of the Year award, losing out by just 37 votes.[33]
On the opening day of the2019–20 campaign, Havertz scored in Leverkusen's 3–2 win overPaderborn, becoming the second-youngest player of all time behind Köppel to score 25 Bundesliga goals.[34] In December, at the age of 20 years, six months and four days, he broke another of Werner's records to become the youngest-ever player to reach 100 Bundesliga appearances when he started in his team's 2–0 defeat to Köln.[35] In the2019–20 UEFA Europa League, Havertz scored in both matches againstPorto in the round of 32, then he scored a goal in a 2–1 defeat toInter Milan in the quarter-final.[36]
On 4 September 2020, Havertz signed a five-year contract withPremier League clubChelsea.[37][38] The transfer fee was reported to be worth an initial £62 million, which could rise to £71 million with add-ons, making him Chelsea'ssecond-most expensive signing afterKepa Arrizabalaga.[39][40] On 14 September, he made his Chelsea debut in theleague opener againstBrighton & Hove Albion, which ended in a 3–1 away win.[41] On 23 September, Havertz scored his first career hat-trick and his first Chelsea goals in a 6–0 home win overBarnsley in the third round of theEFL Cup.[42] Havertz scored his first-ever Premier League goal againstSouthampton on 17 October, in a 3–3 draw at home.[43] On 4 November 2020, it was revealed that Havertz had tested positive forCOVID-19.[44]
On 29 May 2021, he scored the only goal of the game in the2021 UEFA Champions League final. It was his first-ever goal in the competition as Chelsea beat fellow English clubManchester City to win the title for the second time in club history.[45][46] Later that year, on 11 August, Havertz won theUEFA Super Cup with Chelsea, beatingVillarreal in the final on penalties, despite him missing his penalty.[47] On 28 August, he scored his first goal of the 2021–22 season in a 1–1 draw atLiverpool.[48]
On 12 February 2022, Havertz scored the winning goal in the 117th minute of theFIFA Club World Cup Final from a penalty kick, which ended in a 2–1 victory overPalmeiras.[49] Afterwards that year, on 3 September, he scored the winner in a 2–1 home victory againstWest Ham United for his first goal of the2022–23 season.[50] On 25 October, he scored the winner in a 2–1 away victory againstRed Bull Salzburg, which qualified his club for theknockout phase.[51]On 7th March 2023, he scored the winning goal againstBorussia Dortmund to help Chelsea reach the quarter-finals of the 2022–23 Uefa Champions League.
On 28 June 2023, Havertz joined fellow London clubArsenal for a reported fee of £65 million.[52] He made his debut on 13 July in a 1–1 pre-season draw with1. FC Nürnberg.[53] Six days later, Havertz scored Arsenal's fifth in a 5–0 victory in the2023 MLS All-Star Game.[54] On 6 August, he made his competitive debut for the club againstManchester City in the2023 Community Shield, which Arsenal won 4–1 on penalties.[55] On 30 September, Havertz scored his first goal for Arsenal, a penalty in a 4–0 victory overBournemouth.[56] On 25 November, he scored his first open-play goal for the club by scoring the winning goal in a 1–0 win overBrentford.[57] Four days later, Havertz netted his first Champions League goal for the club in a 6–0 rout ofLens.[58]
On 24 February 2024, Havertz contributed his first double goal contribution for the club by scoring and assisting in a 4–1 victory overNewcastle United.[59] On 9 March, he netted the winning goal in a 2–1 win overBrentford, becoming the first German to score in four consecutive games in Premier League history.[60] On the final matchday of the2023–24 season, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory overEverton, as his club finished second in the league.[61] He concluded his first season at Arsenal under coachMikel Arteta with a personal best in the Premier League of 20 goal contributions, tallying 13 goals and seven assists.[62]
On 3 February 2026, Havertz scored a 97th-minute winner against his former club asArsenal defeatedChelsea 1–0 (4–2 on aggregate) at theEmirates Stadium to secure their place in theCarabao Cup final.[68]
Havertz made his debut for theGermany national under-16 team on 11 November 2014, starting in the friendly match against theCzech Republic before being substituted out in the 57th minute forTom Baack. The match finished as a 3–1 win for Germany.[69]
Following a 15-month absence from youth internationals, Havertz made his debut forGermany's under-19 team, debuting on 31 August 2017 in the 0–0 friendly draw againstSwitzerland, coming on in the 72nd minute forPalkó Dárdai.[71] On 4 October 2017, in his third appearance for the under-19 team, Havertz scored four goals in a 5–1 win againstBelarus in the first round ofEuropean Under-19 Championship qualifying.[72] He was later named captain of the under-19 team.[73]
On 29 August 2018, Havertz was called up toGermany's senior team for the first time by head coachJoachim Löw. He was included in the squad for Germany'sUEFA Nations League match againstFrance and friendly againstPeru.[73][74] Havertz made his international debut on 9 September 2018, coming on as a substitute in the 88th minute for Timo Werner against Peru, with the match finishing as a 2–1 home win for Germany.[75] Upon making his debut, he became the first player born in 1999 to represent the national team.[76] On 19 May 2021, he was selected to the German squad for theUEFA Euro 2020.[77] On 19 June 2021, he scored Germany's third goal in the 51st minute in a 4–2 win overPortugal in the UEFA Euro 2020.[78] He scored a goal in the final group fixture for a 2–2 draw against Hungary which saw his side qualify for the knockout phase of the competition.[79]
In November 2022, he was selected in the final squad for the2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[80] On 1 December, he scored a brace in a 4–2 win overCosta Rica; however, Germany did not progress to the knockout round.[81]
Havertz was named in Germany's squad forUEFA Euro 2024.[82] In the opening match of the tournament on 14 June, Havertz played the first 63 minutes, assisting the team's second goal and scoring the third from a penalty kick as Germany won 5–1 againstScotland in Munich.[83]
Havertz has been described as a technically gifted, two-footed attacking midfielder who possesses refined control and passing skills. During his formative years, his style of play drew comparisons to compatriotMesut Özil, with Havertz himself stating that Özil was a player he looked up to.[84] By the age of 19, following numerous impressive performances in the Bundesliga, further comparisons had been drawn between Havertz and former Leverkusen players such asMichael Ballack andToni Kroos, with some describing him as a combination of all three and anAlleskönner – a player capable of doing everything.[85]
Havertz has also been compared toThomas Müller, as both players have a knack for finding spaces in congested areas and making intelligent attacking runs, though Havertz has been described as the more elegant and skillful player.[86] Havertz prefers thefalse nine role, which he played primarily at Chelsea.[87][88] After his move to Arsenal, Havertz was experimented in different positions, including as a left-sidedmezzala,[89][90] but became increasingly utilized as a striker due to his active aerial presence and formidable height of 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in).[91][92][93]
Havertz has been in a relationship with Sophia Weber since 2018.[94] The couple announced their engagement in July 2023 and were married on 18 July the following year.[95][96] Their first child, a son, was born in March 2025.[97]
^"U 17-EM: Unser Team für Aserbaidschan" [European Under-17 Championship: Our team for Azerbaijan] (in German). German Football Association. 4 May 2016.Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved29 August 2018.
^"U 19 Länderspiel: Schweiz – Deutschland" [Under-19 international: Switzerland – Germany] (in German). German Football Association. 31 August 2017.Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved29 August 2018.
^"Nations League: Drei Neue, drei Rückkehrer" [Nations League: Three new players, three returnees] (in German). German Football Association. 29 August 2018.Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved29 August 2018.
