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VfL Wolfsburg

Heartbreak#4884.5

Wolfsburg, Hannover-Brunswick · Germany · Bundesliga

League titles
1
last 2009
Major cups
2
last 2015
Top-2 finishes
2
Top-4 finishes
3
WikipediaQ101859

Power-ranking history

Hover a season for its rank and score
Rank (1 = best)1474Score (per-season normalised)0.00.51.099/0004/0509/1014/1519/2024/25

Against expectation

Every German top-flight match this club has played in the Bundesliga, scored against the odds an Elo rating gave it before kick-off. Over 28 seasons from 1997-98 to 2024-25 it has beaten them by +7.4 match points.

VfL Wolfsburg: surplus against expectation, 1997-98 to 2024-251997-98: −0.5 league points vs expected (39 on 39.5, 3 for a win) · bar height −0.8 match points1998-99: +13.7 league points vs expected (55 on 41.4, 3 for a win) · bar height +4.6 match points1999-00: +4.3 league points vs expected (49 on 44.7, 3 for a win) · bar height +2.0 match points2000-01: −0.2 league points vs expected (47 on 47.2, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.2 match points2001-02: −0.6 league points vs expected (46 on 46.6, 3 for a win) · bar height −0.5 match points2002-03: −0.1 league points vs expected (46 on 46.1, 3 for a win) · bar height −0.4 match points2003-04: −2.9 league points vs expected (42 on 44.9, 3 for a win) · bar height −1.9 match points2004-05: +4.0 league points vs expected (48 on 44.0, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.4 match points2005-06: −8.6 league points vs expected (34 on 42.6, 3 for a win) · bar height −2.0 match points2006-07: −2.2 league points vs expected (37 on 39.2, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.0 match points2007-08: +13.4 league points vs expected (54 on 40.6, 3 for a win) · bar height +4.5 match points2008-09: +18.0 league points vs expected (69 on 51.0, 3 for a win) · bar height +5.5 match points2009-10: −5.0 league points vs expected (50 on 55.0, 3 for a win) · bar height −1.8 match points2010-11: −11.7 league points vs expected (38 on 49.7, 3 for a win) · bar height −3.6 match points2011-12: −0.6 league points vs expected (44 on 44.5, 3 for a win) · bar height −0.8 match points2012-13: +0.9 league points vs expected (43 on 42.1, 3 for a win) · bar height +1.1 match points2013-14: +12.8 league points vs expected (60 on 47.3, 3 for a win) · bar height +3.8 match points2014-15: +12.0 league points vs expected (69 on 57.0, 3 for a win) · bar height +4.2 match points2015-16: −12.0 league points vs expected (45 on 57.0, 3 for a win) · bar height −3.8 match points2016-17: −10.1 league points vs expected (37 on 47.1, 3 for a win) · bar height −3.6 match points2017-18: −10.8 league points vs expected (33 on 43.9, 3 for a win) · bar height −2.5 match points2018-19: +11.6 league points vs expected (55 on 43.4, 3 for a win) · bar height +3.6 match points2019-20: +1.4 league points vs expected (49 on 47.6, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.7 match points2020-21: +9.2 league points vs expected (61 on 51.8, 3 for a win) · bar height +3.4 match points2021-22: −7.1 league points vs expected (42 on 49.1, 3 for a win) · bar height −2.8 match points2022-23: +1.1 league points vs expected (49 on 47.9, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.6 match points2023-24: −8.1 league points vs expected (37 on 45.1, 3 for a win) · bar height −2.9 match points2024-25: −0.4 league points vs expected (43 on 43.4, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.1 match points
1997-98one bar per season · height in match points · hover for that season2024-25
Best season against expectation
2008-09 +18.0 league pts
69 points on 51.0 expected as VfL Wolfsburg
Worst season against expectation
2015-16 12.0 league pts
45 points on 57.0 expected as VfL Wolfsburg

Season points use that season’s own scoring, two for a win before 1995-96 and three from it; the bars use match points so the whole series is comparable.

Hannover-Brunswick against expectation →How this is measured →

What the squad was worth

Total market value of the squad, EUR millions, by month; the player count beside it is the size of the priced squad.

How this is measured

Drawn as a step, not a curve: Transfermarkt reprices every squad in December and June (marked with a small tick on the axis) and revalues continuously between, so the line only moves when a real valuation changed, never by interpolation.

A month renders no value at all once the priced squad falls below 15 players, so a thin squad is never shown as a cheap one. The series is floored at July 2012on purpose: earlier Transfermarkt totals reflect which players happened to be priced yet rather than the squad’s real worth, and are excluded rather than shown misleadingly low.

Upstream (dcaribou/transfermarkt-datasets) has been paused since July 2026, so the series ends where the source ends rather than where the season does.

Player valuations from Transfermarkt via github.com/dcaribou/transfermarkt-datasets (CC0).

What the squad was worth€215m
VfL Wolfsburg: squad value by month, 2012-07 to 2026-06014829612-1314-1516-1718-1920-2122-2324-25
Peak
€274m in Oct 2021 · 30 players valued
Most recent
€215m in Jun 2026 · 34 players valued

Hannover-Brunswickon the rankings →

The money ledger

Fees paid and received each season, and what the squad was worth once the trading is netted out.

How this is measured

Spent is the fees paid for players arriving, received the fees for players leaving, both in EUR millions by the July-to-June season of the move. A move with no fee on record (a free, a loan, an undisclosed sum) is counted, never priced: the small figure beside each total is the moves with a fee, plus those without (so 4+3 is four priced arrivals and three unpriced), and a quiet window is not mistaken for a cheap one. Wages are not here: they are estimates nobody licenses, and fees are documented.

Appreciationis the season’s change in squad value with the net spend taken out: buy 100m of players and finish 100m higher is zero; finish 120m higher and the club made 20m of players better, or the market repriced them. It needs a priced squad at both ends of the season (the same 15-player floor as the value chart), so it is blank rather than guessed for a season that lacks one.

The source has been paused since 6 July 2026, so the final row holds only the opening days of its window.

Transfer fees and player valuations from Transfermarkt via github.com/dcaribou/transfermarkt-datasets (CC0).

The money ledger−€172m
Spent
€538m
68 arrivals with a fee
Received
€366m
44 departures with a fee
Net
−€172m
216 moves with no fee
Appreciation
−€204m
14 seasons with a priced squad

Grown or bought: in 2026-27, trading +€16m and appreciation . Over the last 5 seasons (2022-232026-27), trading −€46m and appreciation unpriced.

The director’s ledger: 78 arrivals graded since 2022-23, 80% EV-positive. €214m deployed for a 1.0× multiplier.

2026-27 spent received €16mto 6 July 2026
out: Patrick Wimmer €10m
unpriced
2025-26 spent €62m received €36m
in: Vini Souza €15m
−€54m
squad gain
2024-25 spent €41m received €24m
in: Andreas Skov Olsen €14m
+€23m
squad gain
2023-24 spent €75m received €72m
in: Lovro Majer €25m
−€17m
squad gain
2022-23 spent €36m received €21m
in: Jakub Kamiński €10m
−€22m
squad gain
2021-22 spent €77m received €20m
in: Sebastiaan Bornauw €14m
−€82m
squad gain
2020-21 spent €20m received €11m
in: Ridle Baku €10m
+€30m
squad gain
2019-20 spent €34m received €10m
in: Xaver Schlager €12m
−€37m
squad gain
Show all 15 seasons
2018-19 spent €23m received €0m
in: Wout Weghorst €11m
+€44m
squad gain
2017-18 spent €36m received €33m
in: John Brooks €17m
−€8m
squad gain
2016-17 spent €66m received €18m
in: Yannick Gerhardt €13m
−€89m
squad gain
2015-16 spent €9m received €95m
in: Bruno Henrique €5m
+€19m
squad gain
2014-15 spent €2m received €3m
in: Koen Casteels €2m
+€54m
squad gain
2013-14 spent €38m received €6m
in: Kevin De Bruyne €22m
−€29m
squad gain
2012-13 spent €20m received
in: Ivan Perišić €8m
−€36m
squad gain

Money against football

Every priced club-season in the six leagues: points against expectation across, squad value gained beyond the net spend up. This club’s seasons are joined.

Tap or drag on the plot: the nearest club-season, its points and its money.

the frontier: no other club-season beat it on both axes · this club, season by season, the largest dot the latest

Every club’s return on the transfer window →

Greatest games

VfL Wolfsburg's top matches by the club Game Score: closeness, stakes, quality and upset over one unified rating of league and European play.All-time board.

#DateStageResultScore
12016-04-12Champions League · Quarterfinals · 2nd leg, agg 2-3AL 0-3 v Real Madridgame score 80.8
21999-03-10DFB-Pokal · SemifinalsHL 0-1 v Werder Bremengame score 64.2
32015-12-08Champions League · Group StageHW 3-2 v Manchester Unitedgame score 63.3
41995-04-11DFB-Pokal · SemifinalsAW 1-0 v 1. FC Kölngame score 61.6
51999-11-23UEFA Cup · Third Round · 1st legHL 2-3 v Atlético de Madridgame score 60.8
62008-02-27DFB-Pokal · QuarterfinalsHW 2-1 v Hamburger SVgame score 60.8
72015-09-30Champions League · Group StageAL 1-2 v Manchester Unitedgame score 60.8
82009-09-30Champions League · Group Stage · 1st legAL 1-2 v Manchester Unitedgame score 60.5
92020-03-12Europa League · Round of 16 · 1st legHL 1-2 v FC Shakhtar Donetskgame score 60.0
102016-04-06Champions League · Quarterfinals · 1st legHW 2-0 v Real Madridgame score 60.0

Footprint

Tiers played
L1
Top-flight (L1) seasons
29
First season
1998
Most recent season
2026

The Heartbreak Index4.5 · #488

The Tortured · Major trophy, 2015

4.5
Heartbreak
#488
of 1,139 clubs
#313
in Football
4.5
agony
The clocks
  • Major trophy since 20152.5
  • Major final appearance since 20151.4
  • League title since 20090.5
Heaviest wounds

relegated from the top flight, 2026 · league runner-up, 2015 · lost the national cup final, 1995 · survived a relegation scare, 2007

One formula, every club the site covers. See the whole board →

Season-by-season

Most recent season first. Covers Bundesliga only. Rows tagged "national playoff" are pre-modern formats where the workbook records only playoff participants, not round-robin standings.

2026
Bundesliga (1) · P16
34 P · 7-8-19 · 45:69 · -24
29
pts
2025
Bundesliga (1) · P11
34 P · 11-10-13 · 56:54 · +2
43
pts
2024
Bundesliga (1) · P12
34 P · 10-7-17 · 41:56 · -15
37
pts
2023
Bundesliga (1) · P8
34 P · 13-10-11 · 57:48 · +9
49
pts
2022
Bundesliga (1) · P12
34 P · 12-6-16 · 43:54 · -11
42
pts
CL
2021
Bundesliga (1) · P4
34 P · 17-10-7 · 61:37 · +24
61
pts
ELCL
2020
Bundesliga (1) · P7
34 P · 13-10-11 · 48:46 · +2
49
pts
ELEL
2019
Bundesliga (1) · P6
34 P · 16-7-11 · 62:50 · +12
55
pts
EL
2018
Bundesliga (1) · P16PO
34 P · 6-15-13 · 36:48 · -12
33
pts
2017
Bundesliga (1) · P16PO
34 P · 10-7-17 · 34:52 · -18
37
pts
2016
Bundesliga (1) · P8
34 P · 12-9-13 · 47:49 · -2
45
pts
CL
2015
Bundesliga (1) · P2
34 P · 20-9-5 · 72:38 · +34
69
pts
PokalELCL
Show all 29 seasons
2014
Bundesliga (1) · P5
34 P · 18-6-10 · 63:50 · +13
60
pts
EL
2013
Bundesliga (1) · P11
34 P · 10-13-11 · 47:52 · -5
43
pts
2012
Bundesliga (1) · P8
34 P · 13-5-16 · 47:60 · -13
44
pts
2011
Bundesliga (1) · P15
34 P · 9-11-14 · 43:48 · -5
38
pts
2010
Bundesliga (1) · P8
34 P · 14-8-12 · 64:58 · +6
50
pts
CLEL
2009
Bundesliga (1) · P1
34 P · 21-6-7 · 80:41 · +39
69
pts
UCCL
2008
Bundesliga (1) · P5
34 P · 15-9-10 · 58:46 · +12
54
pts
UC
2007
Bundesliga (1) · P15
34 P · 8-13-13 · 37:45 · -8
37
pts
2006
Bundesliga (1) · P15
34 P · 7-13-14 · 33:55 · -22
34
pts
2005
Bundesliga (1) · P9
34 P · 15-3-16 · 49:51 · -2
48
pts
2004
Bundesliga (1) · P10
34 P · 13-3-18 · 56:61 · -5
42
pts
2003
Bundesliga (1) · P8
34 P · 13-7-14 · 39:42 · -3
46
pts
2002
Bundesliga (1) · P10
34 P · 13-7-14 · 57:49 · +8
46
pts
2001
Bundesliga (1) · P9
34 P · 12-11-11 · 60:45 · +15
47
pts
2000
Bundesliga (1) · P7
34 P · 12-13-9 · 51:58 · -7
49
pts
UC
1999
Bundesliga (1) · P6
34 P · 15-10-9 · 54:49 · +5
55
pts
UC
1998
Bundesliga (1) · P14
34 P · 11-6-17 · 38:54 · -16
39
pts
Domestic Cup Finals

Most recent first. Every domestic cup final the club has played, including losses. Scheduled finals (date not yet passed) are flagged.

2015
DFB-Pokal
Won
2015
DFL-Supercup
Won
2009
DFL-Supercup
Runner-up
1995
DFB-Pokal
Runner-up
European competition appearances

Most recent first. One row per entry showing the deepest round reached. A Cup Winner badge marks tournaments the club won: gold for the European Cup / Champions League, silver for every other UEFA or Intercontinental trophy.

2021-22
Champions League(CL)
Group stage
2020-21
Europa League(EL)
Qualifying
2019-20
Europa League(EL)
Round of 16
2015-16
Champions League(CL)
Quarter-final
2014-15
Europa League(EL)
Quarter-final
2009-10
Champions League(CL)
Group stage
2009-10
Europa League(EL)
Quarter-final
2008-09
UEFA Cup(UC)
Group stage
1999-00
UEFA Cup(UC)
Group stage