 Leupolz playing forGermany in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Melanie Leupolz[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1994-04-14)14 April 1994 (age 31) | ||
| 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 | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:50, 13 June 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 12:46, 24 July 2023 (UTC) | |||
Melanie Leupolz (born 14 April 1994) is a former German professionalfootballer who last played as amidfielder forLiga F clubReal Madrid.[2][3]
From 2013 until 2023, she also played for theGermany national team.
Leupolz started her career with TSV Ratzenried and TSV Tettnang, then she joinedFreiburg in 2010. In2010–11 season, Freiburg was promoted to Bundesliga. In the following season, she made her Bundesliga debut on 21 August 2011 and scored a goal in a 2–2 away draw againstSC 07 Bad Neuenahr.
In 2014, she joinedBayern Munich. She made her debut on 31 August 2014 for Bayern in a 1–1 draw against1. FFC Frankfurt, then she scored her first goal in a 4–0 win overBayer 04 Leverkusen on 2 October 2014. Later on, she managed to win two Bundesliga titles in her first two seasons with Bayern, in2014–15 and2015–16. In 2018, she extended her contract until 2020.[4]
On 23 March 2020, Leupolz signed forChelsea.[5] On 29 August 2020, she won theFA Community Shield, to be her first title with Chelsea.[6] On 13 September, she scored her first goal for Chelsea in a 9–0 win overBristol City.[7] On 16 May 2021, she featured in theChampions League final, where her team lost 4–0 toBarcelona.[8]
On 7 March 2022, Chelsea announced that she was pregnant, pledged the support of the club's medical team and said she would play no further part in the 2021–22 season.[9] Leupolz returned to play for the club at the start of 2023, after giving birth, and was part of the side that won the Super League and FA Cup competitions that season.[10]
Leupolz transferred toReal Madrid on 3 July 2024.[11] A year later, she ended her contract with the club, originally set to run until 2026, by announcing her retirement in June 2025.[12]
As anUnder-17 international she competed at the2010 U-17 World Cup, where she scored two goals againstSouth Africa.[13] She was the team's captain in the2011 U-17 European Championship, where she missed the final shot in the penalty shootout in the semifinals againstFrance.[14]
On 19 June 2013, Leupolz made her senior Germany debut in a 1–0 win overCanada inPaderborn. The following day she was named in the Germans'UEFA Women's Euro 2013 squad.[15]
She was part of the squad for the2016 Summer Olympics, where Germany won the gold medal.[16]
At the2019 Women's World Cup, she scored a goal in Germany's 4–0 win overSouth Africa, her first national goal since the2016 Summer Olympics.[17]
In September 2023, she announced her retirement from the national team.[18]
| 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 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 2013 | 10 | 1 |
| 2014 | 12 | 3 | |
| 2015 | 17 | 3 | |
| 2016 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 79 | 13 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 September 2013 | Cottbus, Germany |  Russia | 6–0 | 9–0 | 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 5 April 2014 | Dublin, Ireland |  Republic of Ireland | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 10 April 2014 | Mannheim, Germany |  Slovenia | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 8 May 2014 | Osnabrück, Germany |  Slovakia | 7–0 | 9–1 | 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 8 April 2015 | Fürth, Germany |  Brazil | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 6 | 15 June 2015 | Winnipeg, Canada |  Thailand | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup |
| 7 | 18 September 2015 | Halle, Germany |  Hungary | 11–0 | 12–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying |
| 8 | 3 August 2016 | São Paulo, Brazil |  Zimbabwe | 5–0 | 6–1 | 2016 Summer Olympics |
| 9 | 17 June 2019 | Montpellier, France |  South Africa | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup |
| 10 | 5 October 2019 | Aachen, Germany |  Ukraine | 7–0 | 8–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying |
| 11 | 22 September 2020 | Podgorica, Montenegro |  Montenegro | 2–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying |
| 12 | 21 September 2021 | Chemnitz, Germany |  Serbia | 5–1 | 5–1 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 13 | 30 November 2021 | Faro, Portugal |  Portugal | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
Bayern Munich
Chelsea
Germany U-20
Germany
Germany squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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