Bayer Leverkusen have today confirmed that Karim Bellarabi (33) will leave the club at the end of the season.
“It was a really incredible time for me. I’ve experienced great things and played in fantastic games for this club. I have grown really close to Bayer 04 so that this well-considered step still really, really hurts,” said Bellarabi.
After 12 seasons and 290 games across all competitions, Bellarabi has scored 57 goals and provided 66 assists.
“Karim was an outstanding Bundesliga player for many years and always a sporting embodiment of our club. I had the pleasure of playing alongside him. His runs were as equally feared by opponents as his dangerous shooting technique,” said sporting managing director Simon Rolfes.
“I wish him all the best after so many years under the Bayer Cross. It’s a great shame that Karim is only able to watch the last games of the season from the stands due to his injury. But he will be close to us and support us with all his energy.”
Bellarabi has struggled with injuries for much of the current campaign and has played just 104 minutes of football across 10 games, but there’s still a chance that Bellarabi could end is Bayer Leverkusen career with some silverware. Die Werkself host AS Roma in the Europa League semi-final on Thursday night with the Bundesliga side currently 1-0 down on aggregate.
It’s unclear as to where Bellarabi, who has represented Germany on 11 occasions, will be playing his football next season but when announcing his departure, he hinted that he may consider continuing his playing career outside of Europe.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
