Background and career
Malik Leon Tillman (born May 28, 2002) is a professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. Born in Germany, he represents the United States national team. He is known for his creativity, ball control, and dribbling. Tillman played for Greuther Fürth and joined Bayern Munich's youth system in 2015. He featured for Bayern Munich II before making his debut for Bayern's first-team in August 2021. In July 2022, he moved to Scottish Premiership club Rangers on loan, where he won the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award for the 2022–23 season. In August 2023, he went on loan to Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven and won the league in 2023–24, with the club permanently signing him in May 2024, winning the league again in 2024–25. In July 2025, Tillman returned to Germany and signed a five-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen. The son of an American serviceman stationed in Germany, Tillman represented both Germany and the United States at various youth levels. He committed to play for the U.S. and made his senior international debut in June 2022.
Born in Nuremberg, Tillman was part of the youth squad at Greuther Fürth before joining Bayern Munich along with his brother Timothy Tillman in 2015. He was quickly promoted to the under-19 squad after putting in good performances for the under-17s. Tillman made his professional debut on June 9, 2020, when he came on as a substitute for Bayern Munich II, the club's reserve side, against Zwickau. He started and played 57 minutes as Bayern Munich II won 2–0. He was promoted to Bayern Munich's senior team during the first round of the 2021–22 DFB-Pokal against Bremer SV on August 25, 2021. He came on as a substitute at the start of the second half and scored a goal in the 12–0 victory. He made his Champions League debut on December 8, 2021, coming on as a substitute late in the second half against Barcelona.
On July 15, 2022, Tillman joined Scottish club Rangers on a season long loan, with the club having an exclusive option to buy. He made his debut for the club against Scottish Premiership side Livingston, as a second-half substitute, during a 2–1 win on July 30. He scored his first goal for Rangers in a Champions League qualifier against Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise on August 9, and followed this by netting the opening goal in a 4–0 league victory at home over St Johnstone three days later.
On August 10, 2023, Tillman extended his contract with Bayern Munich until 2026. On the same day, he joined Eredivisie club PSV on loan with an option to buy. On September 2, he scored his first goal on his Eredivisie debut in a 4–0 away win over Waalwijk. On October 3, he provided his first Champions League assist in a 2–2 draw with Sevilla. On May 10, 2024, PSV opted to activate the buy option, securing Tillman's transfer permanently by finalizing a contract extending until 2028. The transfer fee was reportedly €12 million, with a buyback clause to Bayern of approximately €35 million.
On July 12, 2025, Tillman joined Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year deal after the club made a bid reported to be €35 million, representing a club record fee for Leverkusen alongside Jarell Quansah's move to the German club, as well as the second-highest American soccer transfer of all time. On August 30, Tillman scored on his debut with the club, a 3–3 league draw to Werder Bremen.
Tillman was initially eligible to represent both Germany, his birth nation, and the United States, through his father. He played youth international soccer for the United States at under-15 level and Germany at under-15, under-16, under-17, under-20 and under-21 levels.
