Bayer Leverkusen have signed Argentina international centre-back Facundo Medina from Marseille, with the 27-year-old putting pen to paper on a five-year contract running until 30 June 2031. The deal is worth around €25 million in total, made up of €23 million guaranteed plus a further €2 million in performance-related add-ons, and was confirmed by both clubs after Medina completed his medical in Leverkusen.
Leverkusen's sporting director Simon Rolfes said the club had brought in "a highly experienced professional" who is particularly strong in one-on-one defensive duels, praising the Argentine's "assertive and aggressive" style as an important new dimension for the squad. New head coach Carles Martínez Novell, who took over at the BayArena in the summer, wanted a defender who could operate as the left-sided centre-back in either a back three or a back four and also cover at left-back, giving him tactical flexibility to change shape without changing personnel. Medina's leadership and comfort on the ball fit the possession-based, high-intensity game Martínez Novell is trying to build. He will also link up with fellow Argentine Exequiel Palacios, who has become an important voice in the Leverkusen dressing room and is understood to have encouraged the move.
For Marseille, it is a significant loss after only a single season. Medina arrived at the Stade Vélodrome from Lens last summer, where he had made 165 appearances and established himself as one of the most reliable defenders in Ligue 1. He settled quickly on the south coast and became a regular starter, but his time there was overshadowed by upheaval behind the scenes. Manager Roberto De Zerbi, who brought him to the club, left in February, and Medina later admitted he was "deeply angered" and "furious" by the departure, given how close the pair had become. The club's president and sporting director also left within months of each other, and Medina has spoken about joining a project that changed shape almost as soon as it began. Marseille now have to find a long-term solution on the left of defence without one of their most consistent performers from last season.
Medina's form over the past year is a big part of why Leverkusen moved for him. He made 26 competitive appearances for Marseille in 2025/26, playing regularly across Ligue 1 and Europe, and his performances were strong enough to earn him a place in Argentina's squad for the 2026 World Cup. He featured in four matches at the tournament, including as a substitute in the final, as Argentina were beaten by Spain. That international exposure, playing alongside and against some of the best forwards in the world, is exactly the kind of experience Leverkusen were looking to add to their backline.
At Leverkusen, Medina is expected to slot straight into the first-choice defence, wearing the number 2 shirt. His ability to play both centre-back and left-back gives Martínez Novell options he did not previously have, allowing the head coach to switch between a back three and back four depending on the opponent without needing to make wholesale changes elsewhere in the team. Given his physical, front-footed defending and his experience of big European nights with Marseille, he should not need a long adaptation period before becoming a regular starter in the Bundesliga.