The transfer of Malik Tillman to Bayer Leverkusen is complete, PSV reports on Saturday. The American international signs a contract until mid-2030 with the Bundesliga club of coach Erik ten Hag.
PSV does not disclose the amount of the transfer fee, but it can rise to approximately 40 million euros through bonuses. A year ago, Eindhoven acquired Tillman from Bayern Munich for approximately 12 million euros, after the midfielder was already loaned from the German club in the 2023/2024 season.
Tillman’s transfer does not come as a surprise. Coach Peter Bosz already said a week ago that Tillman was likely to leave and the player himself was keen to go to Bayer Leverkusen. PSV would have preferred not to let the 23-year-old Tillman go, but is selling him at a significant profit.
“For Malik and for the club, this is a wonderful step in many ways, but above all we will miss him very much as a footballer and as a person,” says director of football affairs Earnest Stewart on Saturday. “Thanks to his fine character, he was well-liked in the group and on the field he showed incredible things. It is a compliment to both Malik and PSV that a club like Leverkusen is so eager to buy him.”
Tillman had two very successful years at PSV. He became champion with the club twice and in both seasons the eighth finals of the Champions League were reached. In recent weeks, Tillman played with the United States at the Gold Cup, which meant that he had not yet started preparing for the new Eredivisie season.
Fourth starting player to leave
Tillman himself looks back on his years at PSV with satisfaction. “It is an understatement if I say that I have had two great seasons at PSV. This club has made me the player and the person I am today,” he says in a press release from the Eindhoven club.