The 2024-25 season at a glance

After Bayer 04 Leverkusen won the championship trophy for the first time in the 2023-24 season, record champions FC Bayern München reclaimed the title in the 2024-25 season in impressive fashion.

By gathering 82 points, FC Bayern played an extraordinary season, with only five teams in Bundesliga history achieving more. Under head coach Vincent Kompany, in his first season, the team particularly impressed with its outstanding attack. On average, FC Bayern took 19 shots per game, more than any other team in Europe’s top five leagues. By the end of the season, they had scored 99 goals – the third-highest total for a team in Bundesliga history.

A significant contribution came once again from Harry Kane, who, after a lot of individual success – first in the Premier League and since 2023 in Germany – finally won his first club title. The captain of the English national team scored 26 goals and became the Bundesliga’s top scorer for the second consecutive season, followed by Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick and Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy, who each scored 21 goals. With a total of 959 goals scored (an average of 3.1 per game), the Bundesliga was once again Europe’s highest-scoring top league.

The Bundesliga also bid farewell to a legend: Thomas Müller left FC Bayern for Canada. Müller achieved the treble of Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and Champions League victories with Munich in 2013 and 2020, wore the club’s jersey for 25 years, and played 756 competitive matches, scoring 250 goals, including 503 Bundesliga appearances (150 goals), of which he won 362. Müller won a total of 33 titles with Bayern. He is a unique icon who has left a lasting legacy.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen once again played impressively over large parts of the season. The runners-up, coached by world star Xabi Alonso, did not lose a single away game for the second consecutive season. Eintracht Frankfurt finished third, nine points behind Leverkusen – the club’s best league position in 32 years and its first qualification for the UEFA Champions League via the league.

Borussia Dortmund also qualified for European‘s elite competition thanks to an impressive comeback. From 11th place on Matchday 19, coach Niko Kovac led his team to ten wins in the remaining 15 games, finishing fourth. SC Freiburg claimed fifth place and qualified for the UEFA Europa League, marking their seventh participation in a European club competition – a remarkable achievement, especially as head coach Christian Streich had stepped down after 13 years in charge at the end of the previous season. His successor, Julian Schuster, immediately continued Freiburg’s success story and was even named “Coach of the Year” by the sports magazine “kicker.” There were also celebrations at 1. FSV Mainz 05. After narrowly avoiding relegation, the team produced an impressive season, qualifying for the UEFA Conference League.

The season was less favorable for RB Leipzig, which missed European club competitions for the first time in its ninth Bundesliga season, and for the previous runners-up VfB Stuttgart, which finished ninth. However, Stuttgart celebrated their first title since the 2007 championship by winning the DFB-Pokal, securing UEFA Europa League qualification.

The bottom of the table also provided excitement, with TSG Hoffenheim and promoted FC St. Pauli celebrating direct survival. The relegation battle was even tighter for 1. FC Heidenheim 1846. In their second Bundesliga season, the club from eastern Baden-Württemberg had to go into the relegation playoffs, narrowly defeating SV Elversberg, the surprise team in Bundesliga 2. Holstein Kiel, however, failed to stay in the Bundesliga after their first promotion and were relegated alongside VfL Bochum 1848.

In Bundesliga 2, a multitude of big names contributed to a spectator record and an exciting race for promotion. Fifteen of the 18 clubs in the 2024-25 season had previously played in the Bundesliga, and eleven had even been German champions – two of which finished at the top of the table and returned to the Bundesiga.

FC Köln, after their seventh relegation, initially struggled but established themselves in the top group from Matchday 11 onwards, ultimately becoming Bundesliga 2 champions. For Friedhelm Funkel, who took over from Gerhard Struber two matchdays before the end of the season and secured two decisive victories, it was the seventh promotion of his coaching career – a record. Köln also achieved their seventh promotion and their fifth championship title in Bundesliga 2. The foundation was laid primarily in defense. Köln kept a clean sheet eleven times.

Hamburger SV, on the other hand, focused entirely on attack. The team, coached by Merlin Polzin, scored 78 goals, 14 more than SV Elversberg and 1. FC Magdeburg, the next-best teams in Bundesliga 2. Thanks to a 6-1 victory against SSV Ulm 1846, Hamburg secured the long-awaited promotion on the penultimate matchday after seven tough years.

Attacking football was once again a hallmark of Bundesliga 2 overall. A total of 925 goals were scored, averaging 3.0 per game – more than in the top leagues in England, France, Spain, or Italy. The top scorer was HSV striker Davie Selke with 22 goals, followed by Martijn Kaars of 1. FC Magdeburg with 19.

SV Elversberg narrowly missed causing a sensation. In only their second Bundesliga 2 season, the Saarland club qualified for the relegation playoffs after finishing third in the table but missed out on promotion due to an added-time goal in the second leg against Heidenheim. SSV Ulm 1846 and SSV Jahn Regensburg were relegated to the third division. Eintracht Braunschweig saved themselves in the relegation playoffs against 1. FC Saarbrücken – also dramatically, with goals in extra time in the second leg.

The enduring popularity of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 among fans was once again reflected in strong media reach and spectator numbers. With 34,288 tickets sold per game, top tier football in Germany achieved the highest average attendance in its history.