2024/25 Bundesliga teams confirmed: Can Bayern Munich return to the top?

Here they are, your 2024/25 German top flight contenders.

The 2023/24 Bundesliga season was one that will go down in the history books. Bayern Munich’s 11-season title streak snapped in style after an invincible league season from Bayer Leverkusen, who also won a domestic double. Borussia Dortmund made it all the way to the Champions League Final, where they have a chance to lift Europe’s biggest trophy on June 1st — if they can knock out Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, the playoffs between the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga have just wrapped up in style. And so the full roster for the 2024/25 Bundesliga is now confirmed.

Going down

FC Köln and Darmstadt finished clear bottom of the table this season, with dismal records of 5-12-17 and 3-8-23. They’ll be toiling in the second tier next season to try to come back up…competing against the likes of bigger name clubs like Hertha Berlin, Schalke 04, Hannover 96 and Hamburger SV, as well as Fortuna Düsseldorf, who came so close to making it up this year.

Staying put

The third-to-last Bundesliga team, VfL Bochum, looked on the ropes after losing 0-3 in the first leg of the play-off against third-ranked 2. Bundesliga side Düsseldorf. But the aptly-named Die Unabsteigbaren (The Undescendables) roared back on Monday with an 0-3 second leg secured by a Philipp Hofmann brace and Kevin Stöger penalty — which sent the tie to penalties.

Bochum squeaked out the win on penalties, 5-6, to stay in the top flight. Well done to Bochum!

Coming up

Joining the other 16 teams who managed to stay up are two intriguing names: FC St. Pauli, crowned champions of the 2. Bundesliga by just a single point on the year, and second-placed Holstein Kiel — who famously knocked Bayern Munich out of the DFB-Pokal in 2020/21 on penalties, back when Hansi Flick was still in charge.

(When is FC Saarbrücken going to join the party?)

2024/25 Bundesliga roster

So here it is, the full roster as captured by @iMiaSanMia:

• Bayer Leverkusen

• VfB Stuttgart

• FC Bayern

• RB Leipzig

• Borussia Dortmund

• Eintracht Frankfurt

• TSG Hoffenheim

• 1. FC Heidenheim

• Werder Bremen

• SC Freiburg

• FC Augsburg

• VfL Wolfsburg

• 1. FSV Mainz 05

• Borussia Mönchengladbach

• Union Berlin

• VfL Bochum

• FC St. Pauli

• Holstein Kiel

Can Bayern make it back to the top? How many German sides will end up in the Champions League? How will Leverkusen re-arm, with Xabi Alonso signed on for another season? Stay tuned…