Edmond Tapsoba: “I never imagined staying long at Bayer Leverkusen”

Burkina Faso defender Edmond Tapsoba has said that he never imagined staying this long at Bayer Leverkusen.

The Ouagadougou born Tapsoba started his career at Salitas before making the journey to home club, US Ouagadougou, spending two seasons.

I spoke with Edmond Tapsoba about whether he expected to stay at Bayer Leverkusen this long after joining, and also got his thoughts on the recent AFCON controversy.

This interview was conducted during the Bundesliga Media Tour

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His first European move came in 2017 when he joined Leixões Sport Club but struggled to make an impact before joining Vitoria de Guimaraes.

The 27-year-old signed for the Bundesliga club from Guimaraes in 2000 and is now in his sixth season at the BayArena.

Speaking to OmaSports TV, the central defender expressed mixed feelings.

Tapsoba joined Leverkusen from Vitoria Guimaraes

“To be honest no, no because I was putting my mind like becoming a best player or something. I always have in my mind that everything can be good and everything can be bad.

“A player can come and leave after one year, not because they were so good but they are not counting on them so I [had on my mind that] I was just living the recent moment and let’s see what happens next year so thank God I’m still here,” Tapsoba told OmaSports TV.

Tapsoba agreed to a five-and-a-half-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of €18 million plus €7 million in add-ons.

For this Bundesliga season, he has made 24 appearances, scoring five goals with two assists to his name.

Tapsoba played four matches with one goal as the Stallions suffered a round 16 exit at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations following a 3-0 defeat by Ivory Coast in January.