“These two agreements again demonstrates our desire to retain key players as a cornerstone of a success-oriented and competitive team,” declared CEO Michael Schade. “After being able to strengthen our squad we wanted to set down another marker with these two important players.”
For sporting director Rudi Völler the contract extensions with Bellarabi and Wendell are a clear signal for the future development at Bayer 04: “Both had offers from financially-strong clubs but they were always key players in our plans,” said Völler. “We’re happy we were able to convince Karim and Wendell of our plans and that they feel so committed to Bayer 04. They are players with extraordinary ability and excellent characters; they are very good for our team.”
Bellarabi: “The best is still to come”
Bellarabi’s development into a regular first choice and one of the best Bundesliga players in his position is closely related to the special relationship with the sporting management and the coach Roger Schmidt in particular. “I always felt I was relied on especially when the going got tough. I became an international here at Leverkusen and I’ve got the chance here to get myself noticed for Germany again,” said Bellarabi. “I feel the best is still to come for us as a team and I definitely want to be part of it.”
And Wendell sees the possibility of his personal development at the Werkself: “I really feel at home in this team and I think we can achieve things on the pitch in the future. Bayer 04 is a club where I can regularly play in the Champions League,” said the 23-year-old who wants to be in the running for the Brazil squad. “I’ve got everything a player could want here.”
Despite a major personnel shake-up in the summer, RB Leipzig have performed impressively this term. Ahead of matchday 15, coach Ole Werner's team are second in the Bundesliga with a three-point lead over their upcoming opponents Bayer 04. This Saturday, 20 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET), the Werkself are away to RBL who are strong at home. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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This year - for the third time - the parents of the Bayer 04 youth players from the U8 to U15 age groups once again took part in the WDR Christmas Miracle. Under the motto "Goals against hunger in the world - parents in goal!", they organised their own fundraising campaign to once again actively support the important WDR campaign. The sum of €3,420 was handed over at the Glashaus in Essen in the middle of the week during the live programme.
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On Tuesday evening, Bayer 04's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer and its employees welcomed some very special visitors to the company's Christmas market at its headquarters in Wuppertal: Werkself players Robert Andrich, Mark Flekken, Loïc Badé, Jarell Quansah and Malik Tillman spent lots of time with Bayer 04 fans of all ages in the early evening – and also helped to serve drinks such as Glühwein (mulled wine) and delicious food.
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The Leverkusen eSports players picked up just one point on Tuesday 16 December in the remaining three matches of the online preliminary round of Showdown Three in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. As a result, the #B04eSports team once again miss out on going through to the offline knockout phase and now head into the winter break.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has always stood for ambition, development, and progress. In recent years, these values have been reflected not only on the pitch, but beyond it. The Werkself continues to grow — regionally, nationally, and now more than ever internationally — and the recent visit from a delegation of our newest international fan club, Bayer4Arab, is a powerful example of this journey.
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