Malik Tillman

Biography

Malik Leon Tillman (born May 28, 2002) is a professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. Born in Germany, he represents the United States national team. Tillman is a graduate of Bayern Munich's youth system, which he joined in 2015 from Greuther Fürth. He made his debut for Bayern's first-team in August 2021, having previously featured for Bayern Munich II. In July 2022, he signed for Scottish Premiership club Rangers on loan, where he won the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award for the 2022–23 season. Tillman represented both his country of birth, Germany, and the United States at youth international level. He made his senior international debut for the United States in June 2022. Tillman was initially eligible to represent both Germany, his birth nation, and the United States, through his father. He played youth international soccer for the United States at under-15 level and Germany at under-15, under-16, under-17, under-20 and under-21 levels. In May 2022, Tillman applied for a one-time switch to play for the United States national team. On May 31, the switch was approved by . The next day, he made his senior debut for the United States in a 3–0 win in a friendly match against Morocco. Tillman is a dual national of the United States and Germany, due to his father being American and his mother German. Tillman has an older brother, Timothy, who currently plays professionally with Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Both brothers played for the Greuther Fürth and Bayern Munich academies, graduating from the latter.