Lea Schüller

Lea Schüller
Schüller with Germany in 2023
Personal information
Full name Lea Schüller[1]
Date of birth (1997-11-12) 12 November 1997
Place of birth Tönisvorst, Germany
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Manchester United
Number 24
Youth career
–2012 Hülser SV
2012–2014 SGS Essen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2020 SGS Essen 125 (62)
2020–2025 Bayern Munich 117 (73)
2026– Manchester United 7 (0)
International career‡
2013–2014 Germany U17 4 (0)
2014–2016 Germany U19 15 (6)
2013–2015 Germany U20 4 (2)
2017– Germany 84 (55)
Medal record
Olympic Games
2024 Paris Team
UEFA Women's Championship
2022 England
UEFA Women's Nations League
2024 France–Netherlands–Spain
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:25, 21 March 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 19:11, 7 March 2026 (UTC)

Lea Schüller (born 12 November 1997) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Manchester United and the Germany national team.

Club career

SGS Essen

Schüller started playing football at Hülser SV before joining the youth department of SGS Essen in 2012. She made her Frauen-Bundesliga debut aged 16 on 1 December 2013, in a 2–0 home defeat against VfL Wolfsburg.[2] She scored her first two Bundesliga goals on 26 February 2014, in a 3–1 away win against BV Cloppenburg. In July 2017, Schüller extended her contract with SGS Essen for two years until June 2020.[3]

Bayern Munich

In July 2020, Schüller signed a three-year contract with Bayern Munich. She made her debut for her new team in a preseason match, scoring the first two goals for a 3–1 win against SC Freiburg on 9 August.[4] At the next preseason friendly, against UWCL qualifiers Slavia Prague, Schüller contributed a goal in a 4–0 win.[5]

Schüller also made her first ever UEFA Women's Champions League appearance in a 2–1 loss against defending champions Olympique Lyonnais on 23 August. Bayern was subsequently knocked out on a 2–2 aggregate loss, with Olympique Lyonnais moving to the semi-finals with an away-goal advantage.[6]

FC Bayern began the 2020–21 Frauen-Bundesliga against SC Sand on 4 September, with Schüller in the starting XI and scoring her first Bundesliga goal with the team, ending with a 6–0 victory. Bayern would go on to win their third league title. Schüller scored a total of 16 goals in her first season with Bayern Munich, finishing third place behind Nicole Billa of TSG Hoffenheim (23 goals) and Laura Freigang of Eintracht Frankfurt (17 goals) as top scorers of the season.[7]

She continued her impressive displays in the 2021–22 Frauen-Bundesliga season, finishing as the league's top goalscorer with 16 goals as well as the club's top goalscorer with 21 goals in all competitions.[8] In the 2022–23 season, Schüller scored 19 times across all competitions to help Bayern win the league title once more.

In the 2023–24 season, she scored the game winner in the 77th minute of the 2–1 away victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.[9] Lea reached double figures for league goals yet again, scoring 11 times as Bayern retained the Frauen-Bundesliga. On 1 May 2025, Schüller scored a hat-trick to fire Bayern to a 4-2 win over Werder Bremen in the DFB-Pokal Frauen final.[10] This secured the club's first-ever domestic double and first DFB-Pokal trophy since 2012.

During her five-and-a-half years at Bayern Munich, Schüller scored 103 goals in 181 appearances across all competitions, firmly establishing her as one of Europe's most prolific centre-forwards.[11]

Manchester United

On 29 December 2025, Schüller agreed to join Women's Super League side Manchester United on a contract until June 2029, starting on 1 January 2026.[12][13] She made her debut for the club on 10 January, coming on as a 60th minute substitute in a 0–0 WSL draw against Arsenal, before scoring her first goal the following week in a 5–0 FA Cup win against Burnley.[14][15]

International career

Schüller appeared for Germany under-17 national team at the 2014 U-17 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica, playing in all three group matches. With the under-19 team, she participated in the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship in Israel, again playing in all three group matches and the defeat on penalties to Sweden in the semi-finals. She was then a member of the German under-20 squad at the U-20 Women's World Cup in Papua New Guinea in 2016, where they lost to France in the quarter-finals.[16]

Schüller was first called up by coach Steffi Jones to train with the full Germany national squad in June 2017,[17] but did not make the final squad for the 2017 UEFA Women's Championship.[18] She made her full international debut against Iceland in a 2019 World Cup qualifying match on 20 October 2017, coming on as a late substitute and scoring the final goal in a 3–2 defeat for Germany. Later in qualifying in April 2018, Schüller scored all 4 goals against the Czech Republic in a 4–0 win.[19]

Schüller was called up to the Germany squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[20] Following strong performances, Lea was named her country's women's national Player of the Year for 2021.

On 18 June 2022, Schüller was called up to the 23-player Germany squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2022, where they reached the final.[21] She scored in their opening game of the tournament, a 4-0 win against Denmark. Schüller started the final at Wembley Stadium, where Germany lost 2-1 after extra time to hosts England. Schüller won Germany's 2022 Footballer of the Year award.[22]

Schüller was called up to the Germany squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.[23]

On 3 July 2024, Schüller was called up to the Germany squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[24] She helped her nation win the bronze medal at the Games, with Germany beating world champions Spain 1-0 in the Bronze medal match.[25]

On 12 June 2025, Schüller was called up to the Germany squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2025.[26] She helped them to reach the semi-finals by scoring goals against Denmark and Polandbefore being knocked out by Spain.[27]

As of December 2025, Schüller is Germany's sixth all-time leading scorer with a tally of over 50 goals.

Personal life

From 2019, Schüller was in a relationship with Austrian sport sailor Lara Vadlau,[28] but broke up in 2024.[29] Since 2025, Schüller is in a relationship with Martina Piemonte.[30]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 21 March 2026[31]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental[b] Other[c] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
SGS Essen 2013–14 Frauen-Bundesliga 7 2 3 0 — — 10 2
2014–15 Frauen-Bundesliga 18 7 1 0 — — 19 7
2015–16 Frauen-Bundesliga 22 8 2 1 — — 24 9
2016–17 Frauen-Bundesliga 13 8 1 0 — — 14 8
2017–18 Frauen-Bundesliga 21 7 4 4 — — 25 11
2018–19 Frauen-Bundesliga 22 14 2 4 — — 24 18
2019–20 Frauen-Bundesliga 22 16 5 6 — — 27 22
Total 125 62 18 15 0 0 0 0 143 77
Bayern Munich 2019–20 Frauen-Bundesliga – – 1 0 — 1 0
2020–21 Frauen-Bundesliga 20 16 4 7 7 3 — 31 26
2021–22 Frauen-Bundesliga 22 16 2 1 7 4 — 31 21
2022–23 Frauen-Bundesliga 22 14 4 1 10 4 — 36 19
2023–24 Frauen-Bundesliga 21 11 4 0 5 3 — 30 14
2024–25 Frauen-Bundesliga 22 11 5 5 7 0 1 0 35 16
2025–26 Frauen-Bundesliga 10 5 1 0 4 1 1 1 16 7
Total 117 73 20 14 41 15 2 1 180 103
Manchester United 2025–26 Women's Super League 7 0 2 1 1 0 2 0 12 1
Career total 249 135 40 30 42 15 4 1 335 181

International

As of 7 March 2026[32]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Germany 2017 3 1
2018 8 6
2019 8 3
2020 4 2
2021 11 11
2022 10 7
2023 10 5
2024 15 12
2025 13 7
2026 2 1
Total 84 55
Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Schüller goal.
List of international goals scored by Lea Schüller[32]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 20 October 2017 Wiesbaden, Germany  Iceland 2–3 2–3 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
2 7 April 2018 Zwickau, Germany  Czech Republic 1–0 4–0
3 2–0
4 3–0
5 4–0
6 4 September 2018 Tórshavn, Faroe Islands  Faroe Islands 1–0 8–0
7 6 October 2018 Essen, Germany  Austria 3–1 3–1 Friendly
8 28 February 2019 Laval, France  France 1–0 1–0
9 22 June 2019 Grenoble, France  Nigeria 3–0 3–0 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
10 31 August 2019 Kassel, Germany  Montenegro 9–0 10–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying
11 7 March 2020 Lagos, Portugal  Norway 1–0 4–0 2020 Algarve Cup
12 19 September 2020 Essen, Germany  Republic of Ireland 3–0 3–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying
13 21 February 2021 Aachen, Germany  Belgium 2–0 2–0 Friendly
14 18 September 2021 Cottbus, Germany  Bulgaria 1–0 7–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
15 5–0
16 21 September 2021 Chemnitz, Germany  Serbia 1–1 5-1
17 2–1
18 3–1
19 4–1
20 26 November 2021 Braunschweig, Germany  Turkey 2–0 8–0
21 3–0
22 5–0
23 30 November 2021 Faro, Portugal  Portugal 1–0 3–1
24 17 February 2022 Middlesbrough, England  Spain 1–1 1–1 2022 Arnold Clark Cup
25 12 April 2022 Stara Pazova, Serbia  Serbia 1–2 2–3 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
26 8 July 2022 London, England  Denmark 2–0 4–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2022
27 3 September 2022 Bursa, Turkey  Turkey 3–0 3–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
28 6 September 2022 Plovdiv, Bulgaria  Bulgaria 1–0 8–0
29 3–0
30 4–0
31 7 July 2023 Fürth, Germany  Zambia 1–2 2–3 Friendly
32 24 July 2023 Melbourne, Australia  Morocco 6–0 6–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
33 26 September 2023 Bochum, Germany  Iceland 3–0 4–0 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League
34 27 October 2023 Sinsheim, Germany  Wales 1–0 5–1
35 2–1
36 28 February 2024 Heerenveen, Netherlands  Netherlands 2–0 2–0
37 9 April 2024 Aachen, Germany  Iceland 1–0 3–1 UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying
38 2–1
39 31 May 2024 Rostock, Germany  Poland 2–1 4–1
40 4 June 2024 Gdynia, Poland  Poland 1–1 3–1
41 2–1
42 16 July 2024 Hanover, Germany  Austria 3–0 4–0
43 25 July 2024 Marseille, France  Australia 2–0 3–0 2024 Summer Olympics
44 31 July 2024 Saint-Étienne, France  Zambia 1–0 4–1
45 3–1
46 29 November 2024 Zurich, Switzerland  Switzerland 3–0 6–0 Friendly
47 6–0
48 21 February 2025 Breda, Netherlands  Netherlands 1–1 2–2 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League
49 4 April 2025 Dundee, Scotland  Scotland 4–0 4–0
50 30 May 2025 Bremen, Germany  Netherlands 2–0 4–0
51 4–0
52 3 June 2025 Vienna, Austria  Austria 2–0 6–0
53 4 July 2025 St. Gallen, Switzerland  Poland 2–0 2–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2025
54 8 July 2025 Basel, Switzerland  Denmark 2–1 2–1
55 3 March 2026 Dresden, Germany  Slovenia 5–0 5–0 2027 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Bayern Munich

Manchester United

Germany

Individual

References

  1. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 – List of Players: Germany" (PDF). FIFA. 7 July 2019. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Lea Schüller unterschreibt bis 2020 bei der SGS Essen" (in German). SGS Essen. 11 July 2017. Archived from the original on 5 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  3. ^ "FC Bayern holt Islacker aus Frankfurt" (in German). DFB. 27 May 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Schüller mit Doppelpack: Bayern-Frauen schlagen Freiburg mit 3:1" [Schüller with a brace: Bayern women beat Freiburg 3-1] (in German). FC Bayern München. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  5. ^ "UWCL-Generalprobe: Bayern-Frauen mit 4:0-Sieg gegen Slavia Prag" [UWCL dress rehearsal: Bayern women with a 4-0 win against Slavia Prague] (in German). FC Bayern München. 16 August 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Bayern-Frauen scheitern nach großem Kampf im UWCL-Viertelfinale" [Bayern women fail after big fight in UWCL quarterfinals] (in German). FC Bayern München. 23 August 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Flyeralarm Frauen-Bundesliga Torjägerinnen 2020-21". Kicker (in German). Olympia-Verlag. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Unsere 𝖳𝖮𝖯 𝖲𝖢𝖮𝖱𝖤𝖱 der Saison 2021/2022!". Twitter. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Live Commentary - Eintracht Frankfurt Ladies vs FC Bayern Women | 9 March 2024". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Unbridled joy as FC Bayern Women celebrate double".
  11. ^ "Lea Schüller moving to Manchester United".
  12. ^ "Confirmed: Schuller joins United Women". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  13. ^ Sanders, Emma (29 December 2025). "Manchester United sign Germany international Lea Schuller". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  14. ^ Sanders, Emma (10 January 2026). "Arsenal against Man Utd ends goalless at Emirates". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 10 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  15. ^ Spencer, Jamie (18 January 2026). "Match report: United Women 5 Burnley 0". ManUtd.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2026. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  16. ^ "0:1 gegen Frankreich: U 20 unglücklich im Viertelfinale ausgeschieden" (in German). DFB. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  17. ^ Burgner, Benedict (27 June 2017). "SGS Essen: Lea Schüller war bei der Nationalmannschaft". RevierSport (in German). Retrieved 9 March 2018.
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  20. ^ "Voss-Tecklenburg beruft WM-Kader" [Voss-Tecklenburg appoints World Cup squad] (in German). German Football Association. 14 May 2019.
  21. ^ "Voss-Tecklenburg beruft endgültigen Kader für die EM in England". DFB. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  22. ^ a b "Fußballer, Fußballerin und Trainer des Jahres: kicker-Awards an Nkunku, Schüller und Streich". Kicker (in German). 31 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  23. ^ "Voss-Tecklenburg beruft finalen Kader für die Weltmeisterschaft" [Voss-Tecklenburg calls final squad for the World Cup] (in German). German Football Association. 8 July 2023. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  24. ^ "Das ist Hrubeschs Olympia-Kader für Frankreich". dfb.de. 3 July 2024.
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  26. ^ "Wück announces squad for UEFA Women's EUROs in Switzerland". German Football Association. 12 June 2025. Archived from the original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  27. ^ "Germany 2-0 Poland: Jule Brand and Lea Schuller score as eight-time champions start with win". BBC Sport. 4 July 2025. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  28. ^ "Fußball-EM 2022: Das sind die 59 lesbischen, bisexuellen und queeren Spielerinnen". L.MAG (in German). 6 July 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  29. ^ Gottschalk, Melanie (10 August 2024). "Nach Olympia-Enttäuschung: DFB-Spielerin erlebt auch noch Trennungsschmerz". Frankfurster Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  30. ^ "DFB-Star Lea Schüller liebt Italien-Stürmerin!" [DFB-Star Lea Schüller liebt Italien-Stürmerin!]. www.rtl.de.
  31. ^ "Lea Schüller – Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  32. ^ a b "Lea Schüller - Player profile". dfb.de. 29 November 2024.
  33. ^ Mehta, Kalika; Ford, Matt (28 May 2023). "Women's Bundesliga: Bayern Munich's title reveals problems". Deutsche Welle (dw.com). Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  34. ^ Sanders, Emma (15 March 2026). "Chelsea 2-0 Manchester United: Lauren James and Aggie-Beever Jones score in League Cup final". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 15 March 2026. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  35. ^ "Spain 0-1 Germany: Germany win women's football bronze at Paris 2024". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  36. ^ Sanders, Emma (31 July 2022). "England beat Germany to win first major women's trophy". BBC. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  37. ^ "Germany win Nations League play-off to reach Olympics". BBC Sport. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
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  39. ^ "Verleihung des Silbernen Lorbeerblattes". bundespraesident.de (in German). Bundespräsidialamt. 4 November 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  40. ^ "Schüller ist Nationalspielerin des Jahres". kicker (in German). Retrieved 16 December 2024.
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