Bayer Leverkusen have appointed Carles Martnez as their new head coach.The 42-year-old Spaniard has signed a two-year deal at the BayArena after agreeing to succeed Kasper Hjulmand, who stepped in early last season following the short, disastrous reign of Erik ten Hag.Martinez led Toulouse to a ninth-placed finish in Ligue 1 last season and will be tasked with rebuilding a Leverkusen side that has yet to recover from the departure of Bundesliga-winning coach Xabi Alonso 12 months ago.The clubs managing director for sport Simon Rolfes said: We have worked intensively on which coach is best suited for the next phase of Bayer 04s development. Carles Martnez has successfully developed numerous young players at Toulouse and moulded an international team into a strong unit.In addition to this valuable experience, he brings a high level of expertise from his time at the Barcelona youth academy to Leverkusen. Carles is a coach with clear principles and a modern approach to the game. We are convinced he can provide the right impetus for our sporting future.Carro convinced Martinez is the right man to take Leverkusen forwardLeverkusen CEO Fernando Carro added: At Bayer 04, we have developed strongly both domestically and in Europe over recent years. Our goal remains to be competitive at the highest level and to further consolidate our position among the leading clubs in Europe.We are convinced that Carles Martnez, with his impressive profile as a coach, fits in very well with this ambition. He embodies a modern type of coach who can develop our highly talented team, raise it to a consistently high level and lead it to tangible success.Hjulmand took over in September last year after Ten Hag was dismissed two games into the 2025/26 league season but failed to inspire a much-changed squad from that with which Alonso had so much success in the 2023/24 campaign.Leverkusen opted to dispense with the former Denmark coach after Leverkusen could only manage a sixth-placed finish last season, missing out on a Bundesliga spot. Topics Bayer 04 Leverkusen Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read European round-up: Kane keeps Bayern on course for treble Nicholas McGee 23rd April, 2026 LIVE Arsenal v Bayer Leverkusen: Commentary, updates, goals and stats for Champions League clash Jon Fisher 17th March, 2026 Arsenal vs Bayer Leverkusen: Confirmed teams and full lineups in Champions League Mitch Fretton 17th March, 2026 Arsenal v Bayer Leverkusen: Line-ups, stats and preview as Gunners look to secure quarter-final spot Jon Fisher 16th March, 2026 LIVE Bayer Leverkusen v Arsenal: Commentary, updates, goals and stats as Gunners head to Germany Jon Fisher 11th March, 2026 Bayer Leverkusen v Arsenal: Line-ups, stats and preview Mitch Fretton 11th March, 2026
