German footballer (born 1996)
Timo Werner (German pronunciation: [ˈtiːmoː ˈvɛʁnɐ];[4][5] born 6 March 1996) is a German professional footballer who plays ❤️ as a striker or attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the Germany national team.
Werner began his senior club ❤️ career in 2013 playing for VfB Stuttgart, becoming the club's youngest debutant and youngest ever goalscorer. He signed with RB ❤️ Leipzig in 2024, aged 20, in a then club record transfer worth €10 million, where he set the record as ❤️ the youngest player to reach 150 and 200 appearances in the Bundesliga. Werner also finished as the league's second highest ❤️ goalscorer in the 2024–20 season. After becoming Leipzig's all-time top goalscorer, Werner departed to Chelsea in 2024 for a reported ❤️ fee worth €50 million, winning the UEFA Champions League in his first season at the club. He later returned to ❤️ Leipzig in August 2024 for a reported £25.3 million.
A German international, Werner was a prolific goalscorer at youth international level ❤️ for Germany, scoring 34 goals in 48 appearances across the various age group levels. Werner made his senior debut in ❤️ 2024 and helped Germany win the 2024 FIFA Confederations Cup, winning the Golden Boot as the tournament's highest goalscorer. He ❤️ also represented Germany at the 2024 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2024.
Early life [ edit ]
Werner was born in ❤️ Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg,[6] to Günther Schuh, a footballer, and Sabine Werner.[7]
Club career [ edit ]
VfB Stuttgart [ edit ]
Werner with VfB ❤️ Stuttgart in 2013
Werner played for TSV Steinhaldenfeld before joining VfB Stuttgart's academy in 2002.[8] During the 2012–13 season, he was ❤️ promoted to the U-19 team despite only being 16-years old at the time. He scored 24 goals that season and ❤️ was rewarded for his form when he won the Gold U-17 Fritz Walter Medal in 2013.[7]
Werner made his senior debut ❤️ later that year in a 2013–14 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase match against PFC Botev Plovdiv.[7][9] Upon doing so, he ❤️ became the youngest player to ever play in an official match for Stuttgart at the age of 17 years, four ❤️ months and 25 days, breaking the record previously held by Gerhard Poschner.[7][10] In the following weeks he also became Stuttgart's ❤️ youngest ever player in the Bundesliga and in the DFB-Pokal, and youngest ever goalscorer after netting his first goal for ❤️ the club against Eintracht Frankfurt.[10] He broke another record on 10 November when he scored a brace in a 3–1 ❤️ win over SC Freiburg, thereby becoming the youngest player in Bundesliga history to score two goals in one game.[11]
On his ❤️ 18th birthday Werner signed a professional contract until June 2024 with VfB Stuttgart. He went on to score 13 goals ❤️ in 95 league appearances, during which time he became the youngest player to make 50 Bundesliga appearances in the competition's ❤️ history.[7][12][13] The record was later broken by Kai Havertz in 2024.[14] Stuttgart were relegated in May 2024 which prompted him ❤️ to join newly promoted club RB Leipzig the following month.[15][16]
RB Leipzig [ edit ]
Werner playing for RB Leipzig in 2024
On ❤️ 11 June 2024, Werner agreed to a four-year contract with RB Leipzig for a reported transfer fee of €10 million, ❤️ the largest in the club's history.[16][17] On 26 September 2024, he became the youngest player to play in 100 Bundesliga ❤️ matches when he appeared in a fixture against 1. FC Köln at the age of 20 years and 203 days.[18] ❤️ In doing so, he bettered the record previously held by Julian Draxler by 22 days, although he was again surpassed ❤️ by Havertz in 2024.[19][20] Werner ended the 2024–17 Bundesliga season with 21 goals, making him the leading German goalscorer in ❤️ the division, and helped RB Leipzig qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the club's history.[21][22]
In ❤️ March 2024, in a match against his former club, Stuttgart, Werner became the youngest player to reach the milestone of ❤️ 150 Bundesliga appearances, eclipsing the record previously held by Charly Körbel.[23] Later that month he helped Leipzig defeat Bayern Munich ❤️ for the first time ever when he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory.[24] He ultimately went on to ❤️ score 13 goals and record seven assists for the season.[25]
On 7 October 2024, Werner scored two goals in a 6–0 ❤️ league win over 1. FC Nürnberg, the first of which was his 50th Bundesliga goal. The result was also RB ❤️ Leipzig's biggest ever win in the competition.[26] The following month, he scored a twice in a 3–0 league win over ❤️ Hertha BSC and in doing so recorded the tenth competitive brace of his career.[27] He reached the milestone of 10 ❤️ league goals for the season on 16 December after scoring twice in a 4–1 win over Mainz 05. His double ❤️ against Mainz was his fifth brace of the campaign, meaning that by that stage of season every time he scored ❤️ in a match he went on to score a brace.[28] On 27 January 2024, he made his 100th appearance for ❤️ RB Leipzig when he started in a 4–0 league win over Fortuna Düsseldorf.[29] He became the first player to score ❤️ 50 Bundesliga goals for the club on 4 May when he scored once and assisted another in a 3–3 draw ❤️ with Mainz.[30]
Werner scored his first Bundesliga hat-trick in a 3–1 away victory against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 30 August 2024.[31] He ❤️ made his 100th league appearance for the club on 5 October, during a 1–1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen.[32] At the ❤️ start of the following month, he scored another hat-trick and recorded three assists to guide Leipzig to an 8–0 win ❤️ over Mainz, their biggest-ever win in the Bundesliga.[33] On 23 November, he became the youngest ever player to reach the ❤️ milestone of 200 Bundesliga appearances.[34]
In his final match as a Leipzig player on 27 June 2024, Werner scored both of ❤️ his side's goals in a 2–1 win away to Augsburg.[35] Hence, he finished his tenure at Leipzig with 95 goals, ❤️ to become the club's record goalscorer, overtaking Daniel Frahn.[35]
Chelsea [ edit ]
Werner scores his second goal of the match against ❤️ Zenit in 2024
On 18 June 2024, Werner agreed to sign for English Premier League club Chelsea, who activated his £47.5 ❤️ million release clause, on a five-year contract.[36] He joined the club on 1 July.[37] He made his league debut with ❤️ the club on 14 September, in a 3–1 away win against Brighton & Hove Albion.[38] On 29 September, Werner scored ❤️ his first goal for Chelsea in a 1–1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur which they lost 4–5 on penalties in the ❤️ fourth round of the EFL Cup.[39] On 17 October, Werner scored his first Premier League goals with a brace and ❤️ assisted Kai Havertz for the third as Chelsea drew Southampton 3–3 at home.[40] On 28 October, he scored his first ❤️ Champions League goal for Chelsea, a penalty against Russian side Krasnodar.[41]
On 15 February 2024, Werner scored in a 2–0 win ❤️ over Newcastle United in the Premier League and ended his 14-game goal drought in the league.[42] On 5 May, he ❤️ scored the first goal in a 2–0 win over Real Madrid, to help his team book a place in the ❤️ Champions League final against fellow Premier League side Manchester City.[43] On 29 May, he won his first-ever Champions League after ❤️ Chelsea defeated Manchester City in the final in Porto.[44]
Werner started the 2024–22 season in the 2024 UEFA Super Cup match ❤️ against Villarreal on 11 August 2024, and following a 1–1 draw after extra time, Chelsea won the penalty shoot-out 6–5.[45] ❤️ He scored his first goal of the season during a Carabao Cup clash against Aston Villa. The match ended 1–1 ❤️ after regular time and Chelsea eventually won 4–3 on penalties.[46] His first Premier League goal of the season came on ❤️ 2 October in a 3–1 win against Southampton.[47] On 8 December 2024, Werner scored the fastest goal for Chelsea in ❤️ their Champions League history, after only 82 seconds away to FC Zenit. He also scored a second goal in the ❤️ 3–3 draw in Saint Petersburg.[48] On 12 April 2024, he scored the third goal for Chelsea to be 3–0 ahead ❤️ against Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium; however, Real Madrid ❤️ managed to score a goal later on, then another goal in the extra-time, to qualify eventually to the semi-finals by ❤️ winning 5–4 on aggregate.[49]
Return to RB Leipzig [ edit ]
On 9 August 2024, Werner re-signed for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig ❤️ on a four-year contract for a reported fee of £25.3 million.[50] On 13 August, Werner made his return debut in ❤️ a 2–2 draw against 1. FC Köln. He also scored, firing a dipping shot from outside the box at Köln ❤️ keeper Marvin Schwäbe, who let it slip through his hands to gift Leipzig the opener in the 36th minute.[51] On ❤️ 1 October 2024, Werner scored a brace against Bochum to score his 100th and 101st goals in 169 matches in ❤️ all competitions for RB Leipzig.[52] This made him the first player to score a century of goals for the club.[52]
On ❤️ 2 November 2024, Werner suffered an ankle injury and had to be substituted in Leipzig's 4–0 Champions League victory over ❤️ Shakhtar Donetsk, which saw him ruled out of the 2024 FIFA World Cup in Qatar for Germany.[53] On 15 April ❤️ 2024, Werner scored a brace in RB Leipzig's 3–2 victory over Augsburg. His second goal was his 100th Bundesliga goal.[54]
International ❤️ career [ edit ]
Werner with Germany in 2024
Werner represented Germany at youth level, playing for the U15, U16, U17, U19 ❤️ and U21 teams, scoring 34 goals in 48 matches overall. In 2010, he scored a hat-trick on his first appearance ❤️ for Germany U15 in a match against Poland. Two years later, he was a part of the Germany team that ❤️ finished runner-up in the 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[13]
Werner was called up to the German senior squad in 2024 by ❤️ head coach Joachim Löw for the friendly against England and the 2024 World Cup qualification match against Azerbaijan on 22 ❤️ and 26 March 2024 respectively.[55]
On 17 May 2024, Werner was named in Germany's squad for the 2024 FIFA Confederations Cup ❤️ held in Russia. He appeared as a substitute for Sandro Wagner in the team's opening game of the tournament against ❤️ Australia,[56] before scoring his first two international goals when selected to start in Germany's final group match against Cameroon on ❤️ 25 June.[57] Four days later, Werner scored Germany's third goal in a 4–1 semi-final victory over Mexico.[58] On 2 July ❤️ 2024, Werner assisted Lars Stindl's tournament winning goal in the 2024 FIFA Confederations Cup Final against Chile.[59] With three goals ❤️ and two assists, Werner was awarded the tournament's Golden Boot.[60]
On 4 June 2024, Werner was included in Germany's final 23-man ❤️ squad for the 2024 FIFA World Cup.[61] He made his first World Cup appearance on 17 June, starting in a ❤️ 1–0 loss to Mexico in Germany's opening match.[62][63] He featured in both of the remaining group stage fixtures but failed ❤️ to score as Germany were eliminated at the first round for the first time since 1938.[64]
On 19 May 2024, he ❤️ was selected to the squad for the UEFA Euro 2024.[65] On 14 June 2024, he scored a brace in a ❤️ 5–2 win over Italy in the 2024–23 UEFA Nations League in what was Italy's first match where they conceded five ❤️ or more goals since the 6–1 defeat to Yugoslavia on 12 May 1957.[66] He was not included in the 2024 ❤️ FIFA World Cup squad due to his ankle injury.[67]
Style of play [ edit ]
Nicknamed "Turbo Timo", Werner is known for ❤️ his acceleration and pace.[68] A direct, hard-working, and energetic forward, he initially played as a winger in his youth, before ❤️ being switched to a striker or centre-forward role. An intelligent player, he has been praised in the media for his ❤️ determination and willingness to drop deep to retrieve the ball or link-up with midfielders. While he is not known for ❤️ his physicality, aerial game, or hold–up play, he is a prolific goalscorer, possessing excellent movement off the ball, as well ❤️ as a powerful and accurate shot with his right foot from both inside and outside the penalty area; he usually ❤️ prefers to cut inside from the left flank and shoot on goal with his stronger foot, although he is also ❤️ capable of cutting inside from the right and striking with his left.[69]
Career statistics [ edit ]
Club [ edit ]
As of ❤️ match played 13 December 2024
International [ edit ]
As of match played 28 March 2024[80]
Appearances and goals by national team and ❤️ year National team Year Apps Goals Germany 2024 10 7 2024 13 2 2024 6 2 2024 6 4 2024 ❤️ 12 6 2024 8 3 2024 2 0 Total 57 24
As of match played 25 March 2024 Germany score listed ❤️ first, score column indicates score after each Werner goal[80]
Honours [ edit ]
RB Leipzig
Chelsea
Germany
Individual
References [ edit ]
