Filipe Luís negotiates departure from Flamengo to take over Bayer Leverkusen

Quase 3 months after leaving Flamengo, Filipe Luís is in advanced negotiations with Bayer Leverkusen to take over technical command of the German club. The Brazilian coach appears as the top priority to replace Kasper Hjulmand, whose dismissal should be made official as soon as the agreement with the former left-back is finalized. The German club has 2 other options on the market, but Filipe Luís remains the main target. Negotiations have already started, as announced by Sky Sports of Alemanha.

Bayer Leverkusen ended the current season in 6th place in Bundesliga with 59 points, 30 less than the champion Bayern of Munique, and did not qualify for Liga of Campeões. The team will compete in the Europa League in the 2026/27 season.

Histórico winner at Flamengo impresses European board

Filipe Luís led Flamengo during 101 games since the end of September 2024. The coach left the club with an impressive balance:

• 63 wins, 23 draws and 15 losses
• Aproveitamento close to 70%
• 183 goals scored and 68 conceded
• 5 titles won: Libertadores, Brasileirão, Copa from Brasil, Supercopa from Brasil and Campeonato Carioca

The winning campaign caught the attention of European leaders, particularly Simon Rolfes, technical director of Bayer Leverkusen. The Dutchman had already expressed admiration for the coach’s qualities in conversation with journalists during the German club’s pre-season at Brasil in July. At the time, Rolfes praised Filipe Luís’s trajectory without detailing future possibilities.

Previous Conexão with Rolfes and Bayer Leverkusen

Simon Rolfes’s admiration for Filipe Luís is not new. The technical director revealed that he had tried to sign the former left-back even before he transferred to Flamengo in 2019. The two had been talking since that period about the ambitions and challenges of their career as a coach. Rolfes had said that he was very pleased to see Filipe Luís take the technical management path after their initial conversations in 2019, when they discussed future career paths and prospects.

The opportunity to count on the Brazilian at Bayer Leverkusen represents a concrete possibility of rapprochement between the director and the coach who had been considered for the club’s project for years. Rolfes publicly highlighted having followed Filipe Luís’s professional evolution since his first ambitions as a coach.

Cenário current market and next steps

Bayer Leverkusen works with a defined schedule for the official announcement. Confirmation of Hjulmand’s departure will be made once negotiations with Filipe Luís reach a final agreement. The German team maintains dialogue with 2 other options, but remains convinced that the Brazilian coach represents the best choice for the project. Conversations evolve in parallel on different fronts, but Filipe Luís remains a priority in the European market.