Marleen Schimmer

Marleen Schimmer (born 23 October 2000) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward or midfielder for Frauen-Bundesliga club RB Leipzig. She has previously played for 1. FC Köln and National Women's Soccer League club San Diego Wave FC. Schimmer also played college soccer for the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Grand Canyon Antelopes in the United States.

Youth career Born in Mainz, Germany, Schimmer started playing football with her brother as a child. She attended Otto-Schott-Gymnasium, where she helped the school's team win the state championship. Schimmer initially played on a men's club in her youth due to an absence of options before joining TSV Schott Mainz as a teenager. She played with the team in the 2. Frauen-Bundesliga for several years, scoring 16 goals in 35 league games. Schimmer departed from Mainz in 2018 to pursue a college career in the United States. She completed her career with Arizona State having played in 35 matches and scored 11 goals.

Grand Canyon Antelopes In February 2020, Schimmer transferred out of Arizona State and joined the Grand Canyon Antelopes for her remaining years of college. Schimmer was named WAC Offensive Player of the Week in October 2021 and GCU's first-ever WAC Offensive Player of the Year for 2021. She also received Academic All-WAC honors and was named to the All-WAC First Team. Schimmer finished her time at Grand Canyon with 39 goals and 17 assists under her belt. becoming GCU's first-ever NWSL Draft selection. In January 2022, Schimmer signed her first NWSL contract with the Wave. She played in the team's inaugural match and assisted Kaleigh Riehl's equalizing goal, which was also San Diego's first goal as a franchise. She made her first NWSL regular season start on 18 May 2022 in an away loss to Racing Louisville FC. At the end of the season, the Wave chose not to exercise a contract option on Schimmer, leaving her to pursue other opportunities.

1. FC Köln In January 2023, Schimmer returned to Germany and signed with 1. FC Köln. She started off playing with Köln's under-20 team in the 2. Frauen-Bundesliga. After performing well, Schimmer earned a professional contract with Köln's first team on 8 June 2023. In May 2024, Schimmer was among the list of players departing from Köln at the end of the season.

RB Leipzig In August 2024, Schimmer signed a one-year contract with RB Leipzig. She scored her first goal with Leipzig on 28 September, contributing to a 3–0 win over Turbine Potsdam. She would score 3 more goals in a total of 17 appearances in her first season at Leipzig. At the end of the season, she extended her contract with the club through 2027.

Schimmer kicked off her second season at Leipzig on a good note, scoring and assisting in the opening match of the 2025–26 season to help beat her former club, 1. FC Köln. She soon became one of the team's most important offensive players, alongside Giovanna Hoffmann, before sustaining an ankle injury in October 2025 that briefly interrupted her positive momentum. Upon completing her four-month recovery, Schimmer returned without skipping a beat, scoring 4 goals and recording 1 assist in her first five games back. In March 2026, RB Leipzig extended Schimmer's contract early, locking her down until 2028.

International career Schimmer has represented Germany at multiple youth levels. As a teenager, she started her international career with the U-16 and U-17 teams. In 2017, she was a member of the Germany squad that won the 2017 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship. In 2024, Schimmer made her return to youth national team selection, getting a call-up to the U-23 squad. She has made 24 youth international appearances and scored 11 goals.

Honours Germany U17 UEFA U-17 Women's Championship: 2017