Bayer Leverkusen Dismisses Benzema Rumors: Squad is Complete
Bayer Leverkusen shut down Benzema talk: “Our squad is complete”
For a few hours, the transfer market lost its mind.
A single claim from DZfoot journalist Ilyes Kaddouri – that Bayer Leverkusen’s hierarchy had made direct contact with Karim Benzema – was enough to send social media into overdrive. The 38-year-old, freshly separated from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal after a mutual contract termination, suddenly found himself linked with the Bundesliga champions-in-waiting in a swirl of excitement and nostalgia.
Then came the Instagram detail. The former Real Madrid icon was spotted following Leverkusen’s official account, a tiny digital gesture that poured fuel on an already lively rumour. A late-window coup? A final European chapter for the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner? The narrative wrote itself.
Leverkusen, though, were having none of it.
Rolfes slams the door
Asked by BILD at the BayArena about a possible move for the unattached forward, sporting director Simon Rolfes did not leave room for interpretation. No teasing. No “never say never.”
“Our squad is complete,” he said.
Four words, delivered emphatically, that shut the door on Benzema and any notion of a marquee, last-minute addition to Carles Martinez’s attack. In a market where clubs often flirt with speculation to keep options open, Leverkusen chose clarity. Benzema will not be arriving in the German top flight via the Rhine.
The stance comes despite reports that Benzema has been in touch with familiar faces connected to the club. The Frenchman is understood to have established contact with Lucas Vazquez and Moussa Diaby, both with strong Leverkusen links. The conversations did nothing to shift the club’s position.
Faith in the forwards already in place
Inside Leverkusen, the message is simple: the goals are already in the building.
Martinez can lean on Patrik Schick, the experienced spearhead who knows the league, the club and the pressure that comes with chasing titles. Alongside him stands Christian Kofane, an emerging forward whose development the staff clearly trust enough not to block with a short-term superstar signing.
There is also the looming return of Victor Boniface. The powerful striker is working back from a serious knee injury, and his rehabilitation is expected to further strengthen an attacking unit the club already considers “well stocked”. Once Boniface is back, the depth chart looks even more imposing.
Any romantic notion of Benzema circling back to Lyon has already been dismissed as well. That door closed last week, removing another sentimental option from the table and underlining that his next step remains wide open – just not in Leverkusen red and black.
Focus turns to Europe and Leipzig
While Benzema’s name trends, Leverkusen’s reality is more immediate and far less speculative.
Martinez’s side open their Europa League campaign on Wednesday night at home to Slovenian outfit Celje, a fixture that offers an early test of squad depth and rotation. Four days later, RB Leipzig arrive at the BayArena for a Bundesliga clash that will demand full intensity before domestic football pauses for the international break.
After that brief halt, competitive action resumes on October 10 with an away trip to Mainz on matchday five, another checkpoint in a season already loaded with expectation.
No Benzema. No late fairytale. Just a club convinced it already has the firepower it needs – and about to find out, in Europe and at home, whether that conviction holds.
