Hardly anyone had this name on the list: Carles Martinez Novell will take over as coach at Bayer Leverkusen. Several media outlets such as WDR had previously reported on it.
Bayer Leverkusen has found a new head coach – and surprises with a new personnel that has not yet been traded. As the Spanish newspaper “Marca” and WDR first reported, Carles Martínez Novell will succeed Kasper Hjulmand at the Werkself. The club confirmed this report a little later.
Spaniard comes on a free transfer
“We have looked intensively into the question of which coach is best suited to Bayer 04’s next development phase,” said sport-Managing director Simon Rolfes: “Carles Martínez Novell has successfully developed numerous young players in Toulouse and formed an international team into a strong unit.”
The 42-year-old, born in Barcelona, has been coaching the French first division club FC Toulouse for three years. He will be able to move on a free transfer because his contract is expiring. It is scheduled to be presented tomorrow, Friday (June 5th, 2026) at 12 p.m. in Leverkusen.
“Want to find myself again”
“The most important thing for me is to find a club where I can find myself again and gain similar experiences as in Toulouse,” he said when he left, according to L’Equipe: “We can think about salary and project, but it is important to me that I have the feeling that I am in a place where we can work well together.”
Martínez Novell was never active as a professional footballer, but can look back on a distinguished career in the coaching bench: The 42-year-old was born in Barcelona and began his coaching career in the youth departments of FC Barcelona and Espanyol Barcelona. After his time in his hometown, he worked as a youth coach in Qatar and Kuwait before moving to Toulouse as an assistant coach under Frenchman Philippe Montanier in the 2022/23 season.
Martínez Novell, who led Toulouse to ninth place last season and won the cup with the club in 2023 as an assistant coach, is expected to receive a two-year contract. It’s the end of a week-long journey, because it seemed likely that Hjulmand would have to leave the club during the current season.
Hjulmand farewell predictable
The 54-year-old took over Bayer from Erik ten Hag after the second matchday and stabilized them with a strong first half of the season, but the second half of the season was disappointing. The team missed qualifying for the Champions League again.
At the end of May, an agreement with the Spaniard Andoni Iraola from AFC Bournemouth seemed to be imminent, but he was then courted decisively by Liverpool FC. The Brazilian Filipe Luis agreed to AS Monaco, and Oliver Glasner, winner of the Conference League with Crystal Palace, was also traded. So now it’s Martínez Novell.
Our sources:
- WDR information
- sports information service
- dpa
Broadcast: “Carles Martinez Novell will be the new head coach at Bayer Leverkusen,” WDR.deJune 4, 2026, 1:30 p.m
