Melanie Leupolz

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

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, Leupolz joined 2. Frauen-Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in 2010.

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. 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. 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.

In 2018, she extended her contract with the club until 2020. Leupolz captained Bayern during her time at the club.

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

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

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.

In January 2023, following her return from maternity leave, Leupolz signed a new contract with Chelsea which would run until 2026. 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.

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

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

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.

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.

Senior On 19 June 2013, Leupolz made her debut for Germany's senior national team in a 1–0 win over Canada. On 28 July 2013, Germany beat Norway 1–0 to secure their sixth consecutive Euro title.

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

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.

In September 2023, Leupolz announced her international retirement.

Personal life As of 2021, Leupolz was studying towards a master’s degree in Psychology, Leadership and Management.

In 2022, it was announced that Leupolz was expecting her first child.

Career statistics Club

International

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

Chelsea FA Women's Super League: 2020–21, 2021-22, 2022–23, 2023–24 FA Women's League Cup: 2020–21 FA Community Shield: 2020 FA Women's Cup: 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23

Germany U-20 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup: 2012 runner-up