The 2025–26 season was the 81st season in VfL Wolfsburg's history and the club's 29th consecutive season in the Bundesliga. The club also competed in the DFB-Pokal.
Wolfsburg started the season under new manager Paul Simonis, but he was dismissed after just 10 Bundesliga matches, with the club 14th in the league. He was replaced by Daniel Bauer, first on an interim basis, before Bauer was given the job permanently on 20 December after picking up seven points from four Bundesliga matches. The club only picked up five points from the following eleven matches however, and Bauer was sacked on 8 March, with Wolfsburg 17th in the Bundesliga, with experienced manager Dieter Hecking appointed as his replacement. Under Hecking, Wolfsburg won nine points from 9 Bundesliga matches, allowing them to avoid automatic relegation, securing a 16th-place relegation play-off finish on the final day of the season. After a 0–0 draw at home to SC Paderborn in the first leg of the play-off, Wolfsburg lost 2–1 after extra time in the second leg and were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.
Wolfsburg reached the second round of the DFB-Pokal (having beaten SV Hemelingen 9–0 in the first round), where they lost 1–0 at home to 2. Bundesliga club Holstein Kiel.
Background and pre-season Following the end of the 2023–24 season, manager Niko Kovač was dismissed and replaced by Ralph Hasenhüttl. Under Hasenhüttl, the club performed better than in the previous season, matching the previous season's final points tally of 37 in early March, after 24 matches, with the club 7th in the table. However, after Wolfsburg failed to win any of the following eight matches, Hasenhüttl was sacked and Daniel Bauer took over as interim manager for the final two matches. Wolfsburg finished the 2024–25 season 11th with 43 points.
On 12 June 2025, Dutchman Paul Simonis was appointed as head coach on a two-year contract, having won the KNVB Cup with Go Ahead Eagles in the previous season, his only season as a manager. VfL Wolfsburg were forecasted to finish 10th in the league by Opta, and had the highest net spend of any Bundesliga club over the course of the 2025–26 season, estimated at €30 million.
Following the end of the 2024–25 season, goalkeeper Niklas Klinger, midfielder Bennit Bröger and forwards Bartosz Białek and Kevin Behrens were all released, and forward Lukas Nmecha signed for Premier League club Leeds United after his Wolfsburg contract expired. Young goalkeeper Philipp Schulze and young midfielder Kofi Amoako left for undisclosed fees to SC Verl and Dynamo Dresden respectively, whilst first team defenders Cédric Zesiger and Sebastiaan Bornauw also left the club; Zesiger transferred to FC Augsburg for an undisclosed fee, having spent the second half of the previous season on loan at the club, whilst Bornauw joined Leeds United for a fee of €6,000,000. Forward Tiago Tomás was sold to fellow Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart for a fee of €14,000,000.
Forward Mohamed Amoura signed for Wolfsburg on a permanent basis for a fee of around €17,000,000, having agreed a loan with a compulsory purchase option from Union Saint-Gilloise the previous summer. Young goalkeeper Jakub Zielinski signed from Legia Warsaw for an undisclosed fee, as did defender Denis Vavro who transferred from F.C. Copenhagen. Fellow defender Aaron Zehnter signed from SC Paderborn for a fee of €4,500,000, whilst midfielder Vinícius Souza joined from EFL Championship club Sheffield United for an undisclosed fee.
Wolfsburg signed Danish winger Jesper Lindstrøm on a season-long loan from Napoli, whilst Jakub Kamiński and Bartol Franjić left the club on season-long loans, to 1. FC Köln and Venezia respectively. Nicolas Cozza also left on a season-long loan to Nantes where he was on loan during the previous season.
Review
Paul Simonis' tenure (August to November) Wolfsburg's season began with a DFB-Pokal first round match away to fifth-tier club SV Hemelingen on 16 August, which they won 9–0, the largest DFB-Pokal victory in the club's history. Dženan Pejčinović, who had spent the previous season out on loan with Fortuna Düsseldorf, scored a hat-trick for Wolfsburg, whilst Mattias Svanberg scored a brace and four others (Moritz Jenz, Andreas Skov Olsen, Lovro Majer and Václav Černý) scored once. Wolfsburg also won their opening Bundesliga match a week later, beating 1. FC Heidenheim 3–1 away after goals from Skov Olsen, Svanberg and Mohamed Amoura, who had scored a penalty. Midfielder Aster Vranckx had left the club on a season-long loan to Sassuolo on 22 August, and defender Saël Kumbedi came in on a season-long loan from Olympique Lyonnais on 28 August. Wolfsburg drew at home in both of their following two Bundesliga matches, firstly a 1–1 against Mainz 05, and then a 3–3 against 1. FC Köln. In the former, Aaron Zehnter had put Wolfsburg 1–0 ahead in the 9th minute before Mainz equalised in the 89th, and in the latter, goals from Amoura and Majer put Wolfsburg 2–1 up after going behind early on before two Köln goals either side of a Wolfsburg goal from Maximilian Arnold in second half stoppage time saw the game end 3–3. Prior to the end of the transfer window on 2 September, Wolfsburg had sold David Odogu to AC Milan for a fee of €7,000,000 and Václav Černý to Beşiktaş for an undisclosed fee, and whilst Jenson Seelt and Adam Daghim joined on season-long loans from Sunderland and Red Bull Salzburg respectively. The club's fourth and fifth league matches of the season had both ended in 1–0 defeats, away to Borussia Dortmund and at home to RB Leipzig respectively.
Across October, Wolfsburg recorded one win and two defeats from their three Bundesliga matches. Adam Daghim scored in a 3–1 away defeat to FC Augsburg on 4 October, before Wolfsburg lost 3–0 at home to VfB Stuttgart on 18 October. Wolfsburg then won 1–0 away at Hamburger SV, with Daghim scoring the only goal of the game. Wolfsburg were also eliminated from the DFB-Pokal during October, losing 1–0 to Holstein Kiel in the second round on 28 October.
On 9 November 2025, manager Paul Simonis was sacked, having won just twice in the opening 10 matches of the Bundesliga season. The Guardian journalist Andy Brassell claimed after his dismissal that Simonis "always seemed an awkward fit coming off just a year as a senior head coach" and that he struggled to impose himself on the club, whilst Simonis told local newspaper Wolfsberger Allgemeine Zeitung that he would have liked more time in the role and that he felt that performances were improving.
Daniel Bauer's tenure (November to March) Under-19 manager Daniel Bauer was appointed as his replacement on an interim basis, and on 20 December, he was given the job on a permanent basis.
On 8 March 2026, manager Bauer was sacked, alongside sports managing director Peter Christiansen, and Dieter Hecking was appointed as the club's new manager.
Dieter Hecking's tenure (March to May) Going into the final game of the season Wolfsburg occupied the relegation play-off place, but were level on 26 points with the bottom two sides 1. FC Heidenheim and FC St. Pauli. Wolfsburg needed to avoid defeat away to FC St. Pauli to avoid direct relegation, and also needed to at least match Heidenheim's result against Mainz 05. Konstantinos Koulierakis put Wolfsburg 1–0 ahead at half time after scoring a header from a corner, before Abdoulie Ceesay equalised for the home side in the 57th minute, also with a header from a corner. A Nikola Vasilj own goal from a corner seven minutes after put Wolfsburg back ahead, and though Christian Eriksen missed a penalty to put Wolfsburg 3–1 up in the 77th minute, Dženan Pejčinović scored a third Wolfsburg goal after a direct attack three minutes after to give Wolfsburg a 3–1 victory. With Heidenheim having lost 2–0 to Mainz, this result qualified Wolfsburg for the relegation play-off match, whilst Heidenheim and St. Pauli were relegated directly.
Wolfsburg played SC Paderborn, who had finished 3rd in the 2. Bundesliga, in the relegation play-off. In the first leg, Wolfsburg were held to a 0–0 at home, despite having the better chances and more possession of the ball. Pejčinović put Wolfsburg ahead three minutes into the second leg, but Mæhle was sent off for Wolfsburg in the 15th minute, after receiving two yellow cards. Filip Bilbija scored a headed equaliser in the 39th minute, and after the game went to extra time, Laurin Curda scored a winner for Paderborn, to relegate Wolfsburg to the 2. Bundesliga. Manager Hecking stepped down from this role after the relegation and became the clubs managing director for sport.
Competitions Bundesliga
League table
Match details +Bundesliga match detailsRoundDateTimeOpponentVenueResultF–AScorersAttendanceLeagueposition115:301. FC HeidenheimAway3–1Skov Olsen 20', Svanberg 66', Amoura 87' pen.15,0003rd215:30Mainz 05Home1–1Zehnter 9'21,8936th315:301. FC KölnHome3–3Amoura 42', Majer 65', Arnold 90+9'28,9178th419:30Borussia DortmundAway0–181,36512th515:30RB LeipzigHome0–123,23612th615:30FC AugsburgAway1–3Daghim 65'28,20015th715:30VfB StuttgartHome0–326,14515th815:30Hamburger SVAway1–0Daghim 15'57,00012th917:30TSG HoffenheimHome2–3Amoura 14', 56'19,07812th1020:30Werder BremenAway1–2Svanberg 28'40,50014th1115:30Bayer LeverkusenHome1–3Vavro 57'25,03615th1217:30Eintracht FrankfurtAway1–1Zehnter 67'58,00015th1315:30Union BerlinHome3–1Wimmer 10', Amoura 30', Majer 59'23,04515th1415:30Borussia MönchengladbachAway3–1Wimmer 4', 34', Amoura 30'47,16113th1515:30SC FreiburgHome3–4Pejčinović 13', 49', 69'22,04514th1617:30Bayern MunichAway1–8Pejčinović 13'75,00014th1718:30FC St. PauliHome2–1Eriksen 25' pen., Pejčinović 88'22,03111th1815:301. FC HeidenheimHome1–1Jenz 80'19,36112th1915:30Mainz 05Away1–3Amoura 3'30,00012th2020:301. FC KölnAway0–150,00014th2115:30Borussia DortmundHome1–2Koulierakis 52'28,91715th2217:30RB LeipzigAway2–2Amoura 52', Svanberg 78'35,78715th2315:30FC AugsburgHome2–3Gerhardt 41', Shiogai 71'19,63115th2415:30VfB StuttgartAway0–457,50017th2515:30Hamburger SVHome1–2Eriksen 22' pen.28,91717th2615:30TSG HoffenheimAway1–1Koulierakis 65'26,25217th2715:30Werder BremenHome0–128,91717th2815:30Bayer LeverkusenAway3–6Wind 16', Maehle 31', Eriksen 38' pen.29,61917th2915:30Eintracht FrankfurtHome1–2Pejčinović 90+7'26,13217th3015:30Union BerlinAway2–1Wimmer 11', Pejčinović 46'22,01217th3115:30Borussia MönchengladbachHome0–027,94717th3219:30SC FreiburgAway1–1Koulierakis 55'32,50016th3318:30Bayern MunichHome0–128,91716th3415:30FC St. PauliAway3–1Koulierakis 38', Vasilj 64' o.g., Pejčinović 80'29,54616th
Relegation play-off +Bundesliga relegation play-off match detailsRoundDateTimeOpponentVenueResultF–AScorersAttendanceFirst leg20:30SC PaderbornHome0–027,800Second leg20:30SC PaderbornAway1–2 Pejčinović 3'15,000
DFB-Pokal
+DFB-Pokal match detailsRoundDateTimeOpponentVenueResultF–AScorersAttendanceFirst round15:30SV HemelingenAway9–0Jenz 13', Skov Olsen 14', Majer 39' pen., Pejčinović 53', 76', 81', Svanberg 61', 71', Černý 72'6,676Second round18:30Holstein KielHome0–110,793
Players Appearances and goals
Sources:
Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute. Players marked left the club during the playing season. Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Wolfsburg. Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward