Jonathan Tah

Jonathan Glao Tah (German pronunciation: [ˈjoːnatan ˈtaː]; born 11 February 1996) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. He previously played for Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen.

Jonathan Tah

Tah with Bayer Leverkusen in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Jonathan Glao Tah[1]
Date of birth	(1996-02-11) 11 February 1996 (age 29)[1]
Place of birth	Hamburg, Germany
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[1]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Bayern Munich
Number	4
Youth career
2000–2008	Altona 93
2008–2009	SC Concordia
2009–2014	Hamburger SV
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2014	Hamburger SV II	8	(0)
2013–2015	Hamburger SV	16	(0)
2014–2015	→ Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan)	23	(0)
2015–2025	Bayer Leverkusen	291	(15)
2025–	Bayern Munich	0	(0)
International career‡
2011–2012	Germany U16	5	(1)
2012–2013	Germany U17	13	(0)
2014–2015	Germany U19	6	(1)
2015–2019	Germany U21	14	(0)
2016–	Germany	37	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:13, 17 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 15:31, 8 June 2025 (UTC)

Early life

Tah was born in Hamburg, to an Ivorian father and a German mother.^[2] He grew up in the Hamburg district of Altona.^[3]

Club career

Hamburger SV

Tah with Hamburger SV in 2014

Tah started playing football at local clubs Altona 93 and SC Concordia before being snapped up by Hamburger SV. On 4 August 2013, Tah made his competitive debut for Hamburg in a DFB-Pokal match against SV Schott Jena.^[4] He made his Bundesliga debut on 21 September 2013 in a 2-0 home loss against Werder Bremen.^[5]

On 1 September 2014, Tah was loaned to Fortuna Düsseldorf for a year.^[6]

Bayer Leverkusen

On 15 July 2015, Tah signed a five-year contract with Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of €7.5 million.^[7] On 28 January 2017, he scored his first senior career goal in a 3–2 defeat against Borussia Mönchengladbach.^[8]

On 26 February 2018, Bayer Leverkusen announced the extension of his contract with the club until 2023.^[9] Tah made his 100th Bundesliga appearance for the club on 10 March 2019.^[10] In September 2021, he signed a contract extension with the club until 2025.^[11]

Tah was part of the Leverkusen side that won their first Bundesliga title ever during the 2023–24 season, clinching the league with a win against Werder Bremen on 14 April 2024.^[12][13] On 3 May 2024, he was included in the Bundesliga team of the season along with five of his Leverkusen teammates.^[14]

In September 2024, Tah announced that he would not renew his contract.^[15][16] He left Leverkusen as a free agent when his contract expired following the conclusion of the 2024–25 season.^[17]

Bayern Munich

On 29 May 2025, Tah joined Bayern Munich, signing a deal until 30 June 2029.^[18][19] It was reported that Bayern paid a fixed fee of €800,000, not including bonuses, to have him available for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup prior to the expiration of his contract with Bayer Leverkusen.^[20]

International career

Tah with Germany in 2019

After playing for the Germany youth sides from U16 to U21, Tah received his first call up to the senior Germany squad in March 2016 for friendlies against England and Italy.^[21] He made his debut in the former, coming on at half-time for Mats Hummels in a 2–3 loss.^[22] He was called up to replace Antonio Rüdiger at Euro 2016, but didn't play in the tournament.^[23]

Tah was not included in the Germany squads for the 2018 World Cup or the 2022 World Cup.^[24]

Tah was named in Germany's squad for UEFA Euro 2024.^[25]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 5 July 2025^[26]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			DFB-Pokal		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hamburger SV	2013–14	Bundesliga	16	0	4	0	—		0	0	20	0
Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan)	2014–15	2. Bundesliga	23	0	0	0	—		—		23	0
Bayer Leverkusen	2015–16	Bundesliga	29	0	4	0	12[a]	0	—		45	0
	2016–17		19	1	2	0	5[b]	0	—		26	1
	2017–18		28	0	5	0	—		—		33	0
	2018–19		33	3	2	0	3[c]	0	—		38	3
	2019–20		25	0	5	0	9[d]	0	—		39	0
	2020–21		27	1	1	0	7[c]	0	—		35	1
	2021–22		33	2	1	0	8[c]	0	—		42	2
	2022–23		33	1	0	0	14[e]	0	—		47	1
	2023–24		31	4	6	2	11[c]	0	—		48	6
	2024–25		33	3	5	1	10[b]	0	1[f]	0	49	4
	Total		291	15	31	3	79	0	1	0	402	18
Bayern Munich	2024–25	Bundesliga	—		—		—		5[g]	0	5	0
	2025–26		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	5	0
Career total			330	15	35	3	79	0	6	0	450	18

1. Eight appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa League
6. Appearance in DFL-Supercup
7. Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup

International

As of match played 8 June 2025^[26]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Germany
	2016	4	0
	2019	5	0
	2020	4	0
	2021	1	0
	2022	2	0
	2023	5	0
	2024	12	0
	2025	4	0
Total		37	0

Honours

Bayer Leverkusen

• Bundesliga: 2023–24^[27]
• DFB-Pokal: 2023–24
• DFL-Supercup: 2024^[28]

Individual

• Fritz Walter Medal U19 Gold: 2015^[29]
• UEFA Europa League Team of the Season: 2019–20,^[30] 2022–23,^[31] 2023–24^[32]
• Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2023–24,^[14] 2024–25^[33]
• VDV Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2023–24,^[34] 2024–25^[35]
• The Athletic Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2023–24^[36]