Mark Flekken

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Mark Flekken
Flekken, Mark Greuther Furth 15-16 WP (cropped).jpg
Flekken with Greuther Fürth in 2015
Personal information
Full name Mark Flekken [1]
Date of birth (1993-06-13) 13 June 1993 (age 32) [1]
Place of birth Kerkrade, Netherlands
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) [1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Bayer Leverkusen
Number 1
Youth career
WDZ
–2009 Roda JC
2009–2012 Alemannia Aachen
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2012–2013 Alemannia Aachen 15 (0)
2013–2016 Greuther Fürth 25 (0)
2013–2016 Greuther Fürth II 3 (0)
2016–2018 MSV Duisburg 68 (1)
2018–2023 SC Freiburg 80 (0)
2021 SC Freiburg II 3 (0)
2023–2025 Brentford 74 (0)
2025– Bayer Leverkusen 1 (0)
International career‡
2022– Netherlands 10 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 24 August 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 21 June 2025

Mark Flekken (born 13 June 1993) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Netherlands national team.

Contents

Early years

Flekken grew up in Bocholtz, Limburg, Netherlands on the German border. [2] His parents René and Annie used to play football themselves, and his younger brother Roy also became a goalkeeper. [3]

Club career

Alemannia Aachen and Greuther Fürth

Flekken started his career in the youth department of RKVV WDZ from Bocholtz before moving to the youth academy of Roda JC Kerkrade. In 2009, he moved across the border to the youth teams of the then 2. Bundesliga club Alemannia Aachen. On 22 September 2011, he signed his first professional contract. [4]

During the winter break of the 2012–13 3. Liga season, Flekken was appointed as the starting goalkeeper by coach René van Eck after the financially troubled club had parted ways with Michael Melka. [5] [2] Flekken made his debut on 26 January 2013 in a 2–0 home game against 1. FC Saarbrücken. [6]

Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Flekken moved to the 2. Bundesliga club SpVgg Greuther Fürth. [7] There, he only made three league appearances in three years as a backup goalkeeper behind Wolfgang Hesl and Sebastian Mielitz. [1]

MSV Duisburg

Flekken signed for MSV Duisburg on 12 June 2016. [8] On 7 August 2016, he scored a goal, after a corner, in a 1–1 draw against VfL Osnabrück, when he went to the opposite box during the last minute. [9] In February 2018, Flekken conceded a goal in a 2. Bundesliga match against FC Ingolstadt, when he turned his back on the play to take a drink from his water bottle. [10] [11]

SC Freiburg

Flekken joined SC Freiburg for the 2018–19 season. [12] A backup to Alexander Schwolow throughout the season, he made his debut in the final matchday of the 2018–19 season against 1. FC Nürnberg. [13] After Schwolow's departure before the start of the 2020–21 season, he was appointed the new starter, but shortly after he suffered a complicated elbow injury while warming up for the DFB-Pokal match against SV Waldhof Mannheim which sidelined him for the entire season. [14] Meanwhile, he was replaced in goal by Florian Müller, who was on loan from Mainz 05. He returned as the starter in goal on 9 May 2021; before that he had regained match practice with the Freiburg reserves in the Regionalliga Südwest. [15]

Flekken started the 2021–22 season as the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper and, after ten games in a row without defeat, saw the team in third place of the league, to which he had contributed with the league's best rate of shots saved. [16]

Brentford

On 31 May 2023, Flekken signed for Premier League club Brentford for a reported fee of £11 million. [17]

2023–24 season

In his debut season, Flekken recorded seven clean sheets and made 113 saves, ranking eighth in both categories across the Premier League. [18] He also stood out for his distribution, becoming one of only two goalkeepers in the league to register an assist, setting up a goal for Neal Maupay against Manchester City. He made four key passes, the most by any goalkeeper in the division that season. [18]

In February 2024, Flekken won the Premier League Save of the Month award for a reflex save against Pedro Neto of Wolverhampton Wanderers. The stop was later nominated for Premier League Save of the Season. [19] His form across the campaign earned him a call-up to the Netherlands national team for UEFA Euro 2024. [20]

2024–25 season

In the 2024–25 season, he maintained a high level of performance and was named Brentford’s Player of the Month for February 2025 after conceding just one goal across three matches, including clean sheets in victories over West Ham United and Leicester City. [21] By April 2025, he had made more saves than any other goalkeeper in Europe’s top five leagues, with 103, and ranked eighth in the Premier League for save percentage at 72.5%. [22] In addition, Flekken was rated as the fifth best goalkeeper in the world according to data from the CIES Football Observatory Index. [23]

Upon the conclusion of the 2024–25 season, he led the Premier League in saves, making 153 with a save percentage of 73.6%. [24]

Bayer Leverkusen

On 3 June 2025, Flekken signed for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen on a three-year deal for a reported fee of around €10 million. [25] [26]

International career

Flekken was called up to the senior Netherlands national team squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Montenegro and Norway on 13 and 16 November 2021, respectively. [27]

Flekken made his international debut for the Netherlands on 26 March 2022 in a friendly match against Denmark. [28]

On 29 May 2024, Flekken was named in the Netherlands' squad for UEFA Euro 2024. [29]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 August 2025 [30]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] League cup [b] EuropeTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Alemannia Aachen 2012–13 3. Liga 150———150
Greuther Fürth II 2013–14 Regionalliga Bayern 140———140
2014–15 Regionalliga Bayern30———30
2015–16 Regionalliga Bayern80———80
Total250———250
Greuther Fürth 2014–15 2. Bundesliga 2000——20
2015–16 2. Bundesliga1010——20
Total3010——40
MSV Duisburg 2016–17 3. Liga37110——381
2017–18 2. Bundesliga31010——320
Total68120——701
SC Freiburg 2018–19 Bundesliga 1000——10
2019–20 Bundesliga10010——110
2020–21 Bundesliga3010——40
2021–22 Bundesliga32050——370
2022–23 Bundesliga34030—7 [c] 0440
Total800100—70970
SC Freiburg II 2020–21 Regionalliga Südwest 30———30
Brentford 2023–24 Premier League 3700010—380
2024–25 Premier League3700020—390
Total7400030—770
Bayer Leverkusen 2025–26 Bundesliga0010—0010
Career total268114030702921
  1. ↑ Includes DFB-Pokal
  2. ↑ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 10 June 2025 [31]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Netherlands 202240
202320
202420
202520
Total100

Honours

MSV Duisburg

SC Freiburg II

SC Freiburg

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mark Flekken". DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Aachen: Mark Flekken: Jüngste Nummer 1 in Alemannias Historie". Aachener Zeitung (in German). 11 January 2013.
  3. ↑ Weigend, David (24 August 2020). "SC-Freiburg-Torhüter Mark Flekken: Ich gehe auch mal gern ins Risiko". Badische Zeitung (in German).
  4. ↑ "Nachwuchs: Alemannia Aachen bindet Mark Flekken". Alemannia Aachen (in German). 22 September 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011.
  5. ↑ "Aachen: Van Ecks nächste Stellschraube heißt Michael Melka". Aachener Nachrichten (in German). 28 September 2012.
  6. ↑ "Alemannia Aachen vs. Saarbrücken – 26 January 2013 – Soccerway". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  7. ↑ "Grün geht - Flekken kommt". SpVgg Greuther Fürth (in German). 31 May 2013. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "MSV holt Keeper Mark Flekken: Ehrgeizig, jung und hungrig!". msv-duisburg.de. 12 June 2016.
  9. ↑ "Torwart Flekken trifft für "Zebras" zum 1:1". rp-online.de. 7 August 2016.
  10. ↑ "Keeper turns back on play to concede bizarre goal". BBC Sport. BBC. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  11. ↑ Drinking Goalie - Funniest Goalkeeper Fail Ever? , retrieved 26 May 2021
  12. ↑ "Mark Flekken kommt zum Sport-Club" (Press release). SC Freiburg. 14 May 2018. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018.
  13. ↑ "5:1 - Freiburg feiert furiosen Saisonabschluss". kicker (in German). 18 May 2019.
  14. ↑ "Torwart Flekken fehlt Freiburg ein halbes Jahr". Weltfussball (in German). 17 September 2020.
  15. ↑ "Freiburg im Saisonendspurt mit Flekken im Tor". Weltfussball (in German). 7 May 2021.
  16. ↑ "Die Zahlen hinter dem Erfolg: Was Freiburg so stark macht". kicker (in German). 5 November 2021.
  17. ↑ "Brentford sign keeper Mark Flekken from Freiburg". BBC Sport. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  18. 1 2 "Season Review: Top Performers". Brentford FC. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  19. ↑ "Flekken wins Save of the Month". Brentford FC. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  20. ↑ "Mark Flekken Player Profile". Brentford FC. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  21. ↑ "Flekken wins February Player of the Month". Brentford FC. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  22. ↑ "Top Five Players: Season Stats". Brentford FC. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  23. ↑ "Chelsea's Sanchez among world's best keepers, says data". BBC Sport. 11 April 2025.
  24. ↑ "Mark Flekken set to join up with Erik Ten Hag at Bayer Leverkusen". Yahoo Sports. 2 June 2025.
  25. ↑ "Bayer 04 sign Netherlands keeper Mark Flekken from Brentford". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 3 June 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  26. ↑ Harris, Jay; Stafford-Bloor, Sebastian (3 June 2025). "Bayer Leverkusen sign goalkeeper Mark Flekken from Brentford". The Athletic. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  27. ↑ "Van Gaal roept 24 spelers op voor laatste groepsduels WK-kwalificatie". OnsOranje.nl (in Dutch). Royal Dutch Football Association. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  28. ↑ "Netherlands vs Denmark, 26 March 2022". eu-football.info. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  29. ↑ "Example Title". The New York Times. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  30. ↑ "Mark Flekken » Club matches". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  31. ↑ "Mark Flekken". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  32. ↑ "DFB-Pokal 2021/22, Finale in Berlin: SC Freiburg 2:4 RB Leipzig: Aufstellung" [DFB-Pokal 2021/22, Final in Berlin: SC Freiburg 2:4 RB Leipzig: Lineup]. Kicker (in German). Olympia-Verlag. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  33. ↑ "Flekken wins Castrol Save of the Month award". Premier League. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
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