analysis
In the women’s Bundesliga, nobody can hold a candle to FC Bayern. The focus is therefore on the imminent departure of a well-known goalscorer and the open future of the league association.
The way Lea Schüller behaved in the last game of the year looked suspiciously like a farewell. The striker was officially absent from FC Bayern due to illness, but that didn’t stop the 28-year-old from making the trip to the away game at Bayer Leverkusen on Monday evening (December 22, 2025).
After the clear 3-0 win in the sold-out Ulrich Haberland Stadium, the goalscorer walked in front of the traveling fans in a dark thermal jacket, raised her hands and tears rolled down her cheeks. The signs point to farewell. And already in winter. Schüller has signaled that she will not extend her contract, which expires in summer 2026.
More flexibility under José Barcala
Too much has gone wrong this year. Going into the European Championship with high expectations, the attacker, who was successful 54 times in 82 international matches, lost her regular place to the more robust Giovanna Hoffmann during the tournament in Switzerland under national coach Christian Wück. Even after the RB Leipzig center forward tore her cruciate ligament, Schüller missed the Nations League finals against Spain (0-0, 0-3) for personal reasons.
For Munich, coach José Barcala relies on a flexible offensive trio. The lively Japanese Momoko Tanikawa, the clever Dane Pernille Harder and the assertive Klara Bühl harmonize perfectly and form a flexible triangle. Schüller, successful six times in 14 competitive games, is now apparently looking for a new challenge at Manchester United. Sports director Bianca Rech couldn’t even get a denial out of it: “I can only say this much: There will be one or two changes towards winter, yes!”
The goal difference of 54:4 speaks volumes
FC Bayern, which is well ahead of the competition, can cope with the departure. Sporty, because 40 out of 42 points with a goal difference of 54:4 are unmatched. Economically, because it is estimated that up to ten million euros will flow into the women’s department in order to keep star players like Pernille Harder and Magdalena Eriksson, who have both extended their contracts until 2028. In addition, the signal comes with the purchase of the Unterhaching sports park as the long-term home of the FCB footballers.
With Georgia Stanway there is an English European champion on the pitch who is making use of her experience. And last but not least, German national players such as DFB captain Giulia Gwinn, Franziska Kett and Klara Bühl are among the supports. For this individual class, superiority is almost the logical consequence.
The star ensemble won 23 of 24 Bundesliga games in the 2025 calendar year. The team acts as a unit, keeps calm – and can cope with setbacks such as the lesson at the start of the Champions League at FC Barcelona (1:7). The signing of 17-year-old Kassandra Potsi as a top talent from SGS Essen has already been announced for the new season.
VfL Wolfsburg remains the first pursuer
VfL Wolfsburg is now happy to establish itself as the first pursuer. The major change on the Mittelland Canal was a success, especially since Alexandra Popp and Svenja Huth continue to live up to their claim to leadership even in their advanced years. The Werkself want to defend second place and advance in the Champions League playoffs against Juventus Turin (February 12th and 19th) and the DFB Cup quarter-finals against Eintracht Frankfurt (March 11th).
Frankfurt, which has recently been third in the league rankings four times in a row, is still dancing on three occasions and has set itself the goal of winning the Women’s Europa Cup, which is being played for the first time. However, Eintracht only overwintered in fifth place, behind TSG Hoffenheim with its top scorer Selina Cerci (ten goals) and the surprise team of SV Werder. Bremen’s new coach Friederike “Fritzy” Kromp has brought a breath of fresh air to the cup finalists. The race for the important third place could be very exciting in the second half of the season.
Best scorer in the Bundesliga: Selina Cerci from TSG Hoffenheim celebrates.
Promoters Union Berlin and HSV raise the Audience average
In the table cellar, SGS Essen, newly promoted Hamburger SV and bottom club Carl Zeiss Jena will probably make up the two relegation places among themselves. The increase to 14 teams has proven successful simply because the newcomers Union Berlin (average audience 7,981) and HSV (6,021) helped to increase popularity. There was also the opening game between Bayern and Leverkusen in front of a record crowd of 57,762 fans and the northern derby between Werder and HSV in front of 37,000 visitors.
Best woman from Bremen: Larissa Mühlhaus in a duel with Mia-Lena Maas from Freiburg.
And yet such highlights cannot hide the fact that the Bundesliga has to be careful not to lose touch internationally. Wolfsburg’s coach Stephan Lerch spoke of one “good interim report” because of the regular exit in the European Cup, but it is not a good sign for women’s football when, one day after the women’s European Championship 2029 was awarded to Germany, clubs and the association suddenly publicly fall out over the future of the league. The DFB around President Bernd Neuendorf in particular underestimated the explosive power of this case.
Power struggle for the new league association
On December 10th, the new women’s Bundesliga FBL eV was founded by the 14 clubs. The president is Katharina Kiel from Eintracht Frankfurt. It is her responsibility to take the next steps – and above all to get the DFB on board. After some serious allegations, the association decided not to respond in order to prevent a public mudslinging.
There will be renegotiations in January as to whether a joint company will be founded. The DFB would be the logical partner for such a construct. The association has made it clear that, on the one hand, it has no interest in an escalation of the conflict, but on the other hand, with investments of 100 million euros over the next eight years, it cannot allow its interests to be overridden.
It’s about the last word
The participation in higher revenues is also unlikely to be capped in the future. According to Sportschau information, it is also not true that the DFB wants to leave the company early. On the contrary: the association would like to integrate the 2nd Bundesliga in the medium term.
As of now, both parties insist on having the last word in the joint venture – and from their point of view they have good reasons not to move away from this position. It won’t be easy to reconcile all of this under a certain amount of time pressure after the failed negotiations. There are signs that this power struggle behind the scenes could be even more exciting than the championship fight of the 2025/26 season.