Rafaela Borggräfe
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 5 March 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Emmendingen, Germany | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Bayer Leverkusen (on loan from Liverpool) | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2012 | SC Holzhausen | ||
| 2012–2013 | SC March | ||
| 2014–2017 | SC Freiburg | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2023 | SC Freiburg II | 35 | (0) |
| 2017–2025 | SC Freiburg | 59 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → FC Aarau (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2025– | Liverpool | 3 | (0) |
| 2026- | → Bayer Leverkusen (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2025– | Germany | 0 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:55, 26 April 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 13 May 2025 | |||
Rafaela Borggräfe (German: [ʁa.faˈeː.la ˈbɔʁk.ɡʁɛː.fə]; born 5 March 2000) is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Frauen Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, on loan from Women's Super League club Liverpool.
Borggräfe played for SC Holzhausen and SC March during her youth, before moving to SC Freiburg's youth ranks in 2014.[1] Three years later she moved to the team's second senior squad on a full-time basis, having made her Regionalliga Süd debut against Wetzlar II.[2]
For the 2020–21 season, Borggräfe was loaned out to FC Aarau in Switzerland. The team would win the league and was promoted to the Swiss Super League, with Borggräfe showing development as the team's starting goalkeeper, keeping six clean sheets.[3][4] The following year, the German was able to usurp Lena Nunding to become Freiburg's starting goalie in the Bundesliga. She continued her role throughout the following season, until an illness made her miss nearly the entirety of the 2023 calendar year.[5] Borggräfe returned to action in December 2023; her 2023–24 Bundesliga campaign included 14 matches and five clean sheets.[6] Her 2024–25 season began well, as Freiburg held fifth place at the halfway point, with Borggräfe going without conceding four times.[7] Having overcome the niggling errors that plagued her previous seasons, despite some issues with her build-up play, Borggräfe was lauded as one of the league's best goalkeepers, as Freiburg finished fifth.[8][9] She left Freiburg following the season.[10]
On July 18, 2025, Borggräfe completed a move to Liverpool.[11] After making three first-team appearances, Borggräfe received a six-game ban for allegedly using discriminatory language, reportedly a racist comment that involved reference to skin colour towards a team-mate during Liverpool's pre-season training camp.[12][13]
On 3 February 2026, it was announced that Borggräfe had moved on loan to Frauen Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for the duration of the 2025-26 season.[14]
