Leon Christoph Goretzka was born on 6 February 1995 in Bochum, Germany, and started professionally with VfL Bochum's reserve team in 2012, earning the Fritz Walter Medal U17 Gold the same year. In June 2013 he transferred to FC Schalke 04 for around €3.25 million. Across five seasons in Gelsenkirchen he made 116 Bundesliga appearances and 14 goals, with his 2016-17 campaign featuring 41 matches in all competitions and 8 goals despite intermittent injuries and an inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis.
In July 2018 Bayern Munich signed him on a free transfer, and he has since become a foundation of the midfield with more than 300 competitive Bayern appearances. He won multiple Bundesliga titles, the 2019-20 Champions League and various German cups. In January 2026 Bayern announced his contract would not be extended beyond 2025-26 — though he remained a senior figure for the duration of the season.
For Germany he made his senior debut in May 2014 and has earned around 70 caps with 15 goals, playing at the 2018 World Cup, Euro 2020, the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024. He won 2016 Olympic silver and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Standing 1.89 m, Goretzka is a powerful, ambidextrous central midfielder with strong heading, late runs and a confident shot from outside the box — a complete box-to-box profile that has been one of the underappreciated engines of recent Bayern teams.