Leverkusen on FM26 - After Wirtz
2023-24: UNBEATEN CHAMPIONS. 51 matches unbeaten — ABSOLUTE EUROPEAN RECORD. Finally no more 'Neverkusen'. Then summer 2025: Florian Wirtz sold to Liverpool for ~£125M — BUNDESLIGA RECORD. 17 recruits to compensate. Kasper Hjulmand appointed. 6th in Bundesliga 2025-26, Europa League. The BayArena (30,210 seats) reconfigures.
Why choose Bayer Leverkusen?
Because Leverkusen is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL REDEMPTION STORY IN GERMAN FOOTBALL. For 30 years nicknamed 'Neverkusen' — in 2002, the club missed 3 finals in the same season (Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, Champions League). A unique tragedy in football history. Then 2023-24: Xabi Alonso arrives, FIRST BUNDESLIGA TITLE, 34 matches unbeaten, 51 consecutive matches without defeat — ABSOLUTE EUROPEAN RECORD surpassing Arsenal's Invincibles. But Alonso left for Real Madrid (it was his career's true home). Wirtz sold to Liverpool for ~£125M (Bundesliga record). 6th in Bundesliga 2025-26, Europa League only — the reality of transition. 17 recruits to rebuild. Kasper Hjulmand (ex-Denmark national team). The BayArena (30,210 seats, club founded by Bayer AG factory workers in 1904). In FM26, you arrive in the post-Alonso-Wirtz era to BECOME A HIGH-LEVEL CLUB AGAIN.
The Invincibles' legacy
51 matches without defeat — fans who lived it can never forget. Rudi Völler, Michael Ballack, Dimitar Berbatov — BayArena legends. In FM26, the Xabi Alonso era is INSPIRATION: building a team with a strong identity can bring the title even with a budget smaller than Bayern or Dortmund.
Tactics: rebuild the identity
Alonso played a 4-2-3-1 or 3-4-3 with structured possession and quick transitions — inspired by his years under Guardiola. Without Wirtz (the system's brain), you need to rebuild. In FM26, find a technical playmaker to replace Wirtz and maintain the collective, structured play identity.
Objectives: return to the summit
Return to top 4 Bundesliga (CL). Win the DFB-Pokal again (2024 already). Long term: a 2nd Bundesliga title — to CONFIRM that 2024 wasn't a miracle but a METHOD.
Leverkusen is REDEMPTION. From 'Neverkusen' to invincible in 2024. In FM26, building the post-Wirtz era and proving Alonso's method endures — that's THE CHALLENGE. Bayer Leverkusen!