Julian Brandt

Julian Brandt has been with BVB since 2019. “I came to Dortmund simply because it was simply what I wanted to do. I never wanted to play for just one club.” Four years later, he extended his contract until 2026, stressing: “It is well known that I feel very comfortable here.” kicker magazine described him as “the man for the special moments. A difference-maker. And a risk-taker. A fun footballer who makes the hard stuff look so easy and has made effortlessness his trademark”. He loves a pass in behind the defence. “I always try to remind myself of why we all play football: it’s because it gave us so much joy back when we were little kids.”

In the past, Brandt has been repeatedly moved around on the pitch playing up-front, as a number 6, number 8 and number 10, or on the left and right wing), but in 2024/25, he almost always played centrally in attacking midfield. He had the most shots on goal at BVB (64) and provided an impressive ten assists. He is a willing runner, including several sprints in 2024/25 and achieved a rapid top speed of 34.3 km/h. The gifted technician has only committed 106 fouls in 354 Bundesliga matches and has seen just nine yellow cards in his career, and is currently on a streak of over 200 league matches without picking up a booking.

Julian Brandt was born on 2 May 1996 in Bremen. He made his first steps in football when he joined local club SC Borgfeld at the age of five. From 2009 to 2011, the attacker played two seasons at FC Oberneuland before the attacking midfielder moved to the youth set-up of VfL Wolfsburg, where, in 2013, he was a member of the team that won the U19 German Championship.

In January 2014, he committed his future to Bayer Leverkusen, who handed him his Bundesliga debut only a few weeks later at just 17 years of age (15 February 2014 against Schalke 04). Only three days later, his UEFA Champions League debut followed when he came on as a substitute against Paris Saint-Germain. The upward trajectory of Brandt’s incredible career showed no signs of slowing down. As the 2014/15 season wore on, the technically gifted and nimble-footed youngster pinned down a regular place in the Leverkusen starting XI.

Julian Brandt went through all the DFB youth teams from the U15s and on 29 May 2016, just weeks after his 20th birthday, he won his first senior cap for Germany against Slovakia. In 2016, he travelled to the Rio Olympics with the German Olympic team, where he helped Germany to a silver medal finish.