Women’s Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen is losing one of its most important players at the end of the season – namely its captain.
Captain Elisa Senß is leaving Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the season. The midfielder is making use of the exit clause in her contract, which originally ran until the summer of 2025, and is moving within the women’s Bundesliga to Champions League participants Eintracht Frankfurt.
The 26-year-old moved to Leverkusen from league rivals SGS Essen in the summer of 2022. She has played 41 competitive matches at Leverkusen to date, scoring one goal.
Since her transfer to Bayer 04, Senß has immediately worn the captain’s armband for the Werkself and has matured into a German international this season. Last December, national coach Horst Hrubesch nominated the Oldenburg native for the German Football Association (DFB) squad for the first time, and she made her international debut in a 3-0 Nations League win over Denmark in Rostock on December 1, 2023. At the end of February, she qualified with the national team for the Summer Olympics in Paris.
“Of course, Elisa’s departure is a shame from our point of view, but that’s what her success entails. If we successfully develop a player, it’s normal that she will move to a club with other opportunities at some point,” says Thomas Eichin, Director of Licensing and therefore also responsible for the women’s sector at Bayer Leverkusen.
I was given a lot of trust as captain from the very beginning and I was allowed to live out this role. The move to Frankfurt offers me a new challenge and opportunity for further development
Elisa Senß
He recalls the departures of Jill Baijings and Lisanne Gräwe after last season and emphasizes: “Such transfers are part of the game. We will remain true to ourselves and continue to focus on training and development in the future. We are delighted that Elisa will continue on her successful path. In the new season, other young players will take on even more responsibility and can grow in this role.”
“I had an incredibly good time in Leverkusen, full of positive experiences. I always felt at home here and am therefore grateful to the club, my teammates and the staff that I was able to develop so well here,” says Senß: “I was given a lot of trust as captain from the very beginning and I was allowed to live out my potential in this role. The move to Frankfurt offers me a new challenge and opportunity for further development. “