Max Meyer (footballer)

Early career

Meyer left his hometown club Rot-Weiß Oberhausen to join MSV Duisburg in 2004 on a free transfer. In 2009, he transferred to Schalke 04's youth team. With the Schalke U-19 team, he won the 2011–12 German U-19 Championship against Bayern Munich with a 2–1 win in the final.

In the 2011–12 season, Meyer played 15 matches for the U-19 team, scoring 11 goals making 11 assists. This made him the club's second-highest goalscorer, behind Tammo Harder. Due to Meyer's performances, Schalke 04 general manager Horst Heldt signed him to a professional contract through to 2015.

2012–13 season

Following the departure of Lewis Holtby to Tottenham Hotspur and the injuries of several other players, Meyer was included in Schalke's Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League squad. On 9 February 2013, he was an unused substitute against Bayern Munich. On 16 February, in a 2–2 draw match against Mainz 05, Meyer replaced Raffael in the 72nd minute and provided an assist for Michel Bastos' goal which helped Schalke secure a draw.

2013–14 season

For the 2013–14 season, Meyer was issued shirt number 7, last worn by Raúl. He started the season by scoring a brace against SSVg Velbert, playing for Schalke 04 II. His first match in 2013–14 Bundesliga was against VfL Wolfsburg, where he came on as a 73rd minute substitute for Jefferson Farfán. In an Champions League match against PAOK, Mayer made the first start of his career, but was replaced in the 69th minute by Christian Clemens. In a DFB-Pokal match against Darmstadt 98, he scored his first goal for Schalke 04. He also scored against giants Borussia Dortmund after coming as a substitute for Christian Fuchs. Following his impressive performance against Chelsea in the Champions League, he became a transfer target for Chelsea, which was willing to pay Schalke €15 million for Meyer. He scored goals in consecutive matches against Eintracht Braunschweig and FC Augsburg.

On 30 November 2013, Meyer signed a contract extension with Schalke until 30 June 2018. He then scored in the first match after winter break against Hamburger SV.

2014–15 season

Schalke went into the last match of the Champions League group stage playing away to Maribor and needing a win to advance. Six minutes after replacing Tranquillo Barnetta in the 56th minute, Meyer scored the only goal of the match, which took Schalke through to the round of 16 against Real Madrid, where they lost 2–0 at the Veltins Arena then won 4–3 away at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Schalke was eliminated 4–5 on aggregate.

Youth

Meyer was part of the Germany under-17 squad for 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. He scored three goals to help Germany to reach the final, which the Germans lost in a penalty shoot-out to the Netherlands. Nevertheless, Meyer was top scorer and awarded best player of the tournament. Meyer won the Fritz Walter Under-17 Silver Medal in 2012. Meyer scored his first goal for Germany's under-19 team in a friendly against the Netherlands.

Senior

Meyer was included in the Germany senior team's 30-man provisional squad for 2014 FIFA World Cup. On 13 May 2014, he made his senior debut against Poland. Though Meyer started the match, in the 76th minute he was substituted out for Maximilian Arnold. On 31 October 2016, Meyer scored his first goal for Germany in a 2–0 friendly win against Finland in Mönchengladbach.

Olympic team

Alongside Schalke teammate Leon Goretzka, Meyer was named in the squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Meyer would captain the team for the rest of the tournament after Goretzka suffered a shoulder injury. On 11 August 2016, Meyer scored a hat-trick in a 10–0 win over Fiji, although he also missed a penalty. In the gold medal final, played on 21 August, Meyer scored the equaliser that extended the decision to penalty shootout, which Germany lost to Brazil, 5–4.

Style of play

When asked about his good technique, Meyer replied, "At the age of 10 I dabbled in Futsal for four years besides the football club. In addition to the three workouts at the club I had one complementary Futsal session per week. Saturday noon was the time for the football game and in the afternoon the futsal game took place."

Club statistics

International goals

International

Individual