Bundesliga
A Leipzig legend in Hamburg colours
Yussuf Poulsen became an institution at RB Leipzig, before joining Hamburg ahead of the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign. Get to know the Danish veteran below...
Stats correct as of 13 July 2025
Age: 31 (born 15 June 1994)
Club: Hamburg
Position: Forward
Country: Denmark (87 caps, 14 goals)
Key stats
Signed from Lyngby in his native Denmark back in 2013, Poulsen joined Leipzig when they were in the third tier of German football. He went on to become the club’s record appearance holder (425) and left for Hamburg in July 2025 occupying second place in their all-time scoring chart (95).
His personal best single-season Bundesliga haul of 15 came in 2018/19, bettering the 11 and 10 he previously scored in Bundesliga 2 and the third division, and while he has accumulated only 25 in the six seasons since, he nevertheless etched his name in the club's record books as their longest-serving player.
In addition to his 106 competitive goals at club level for Lyngby and Leipzig, the 6'3" Poulsen has scored 14 times in 87 senior internationals for Denmark.
Watch: "I owe Leipzig everything" - Yussuf Poulsen
Plays a bit like: Olivier Giroud
Poulsen isn't as prolific as France's all-time top scorer Olivier Giroud, but Poulsen has similar physical attributes, combining battering-ram strength with clever movement to draw opposition players away from and open up the space for his fellow attackers. The great Dane is also a real handful in the air.
Did you know?
A player who started out as a defender in his youth, Poulsen can be hard for the untrained eye to spot on the pitch. The reason is because he doesn’t always carry his surname on his kit. For previous clubs and national team Denmark, he's worn the name 'Yurary' in honour of his late father, who lost his battle with cancer when Yussuf was only six.
Leipzig were actually the exception to this because, as Poulsen explained, "I asked for 'Yurary' when I signed but they told me they'd already printed the 'Poulsen' jerseys."
Incidentally, Poulsen signed for Leipzig at the same time as current Bayern Munich man Joshua Kimmich, and the pair used to share an apartment together with midfielder Diego Demme.
What they're saying
"I've always had a high opinion of him, and he's continued to improve in every sense since he arrived here. It's a joy to work with him and to see how far he's progressed." - ex-Leipzig sporting director and head coach Ralf Rangnick
"He's got the lungs of a horse – Yussi runs like crazy, and he now has the goalscoring record to match his efforts." - former Leipzig teammate Davie Selke