"With Kai Havertz we have once again brought a promising youth player through to our first team squad," said Bayer 04 CEO Michael Schade. "That fits in completely with our strategy of trying to pave a direct way for our talented youngsters from the Kurtekotten Academy into the BayArena. Kai Havertz and Benjamin Henrichs represent our successful concept of developing our home-grown players into outstanding Bundesliga players."
The versatile Havertz, awarded a silver Fritz Walter Medal by the DFB, was one of the outstanding newcomers in the Bundesliga last season. "Kai has special qualities and beyond that is also blessed with a maturity that raises him above other players of his age," said Bayer 04 sporting director Rudi Völler. "He has technical ability, is capable of scoring and is good in the air. After a great start in professional football we want to continue to support Kai's development. He has huge potential that will unfold in the next few years."
For the youth international, signing the contract is a long-cherished desire: "I've worked for this moment over the past few years. I feel great's satisfaction and pride. I'm happy to finally really being part of it all after last season when I still had to finish school. I've got my A-levels now and a professional contract at Bayer 04 - it feels great."
The fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 starts for the Leverkusen eSports team today, Thursday 22 January (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel and on the Bayer 04 app from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Reds will once again compete with six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round in Berlin on 2 February at the fourth showdown. The lowdown on our next three opponents in the online preliminary round.
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The fourth European away trip of the season in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 takes the Werkself to the Greek capital. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday seven in the UCL league phase. The match at the Karaiskakis Stadium is on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET). We'll be taking you on a trip to Athens and reporting on the Werkself close-up...
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A great honour for Bayer 04 Women's German international: as part of the 2025 Sports Awards, Carlotta Wamser entered her name into the City of Leverkusen's Golden Book. On Tuesday, she looked back on a special year in a talk in the Morsbroich Castle hall of mirrors.
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It was a disappointing night in Athens: The Werkself lost 2-0 away to Olympiacos on Matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. In a match that was intense and fiery from the outset, the high-pressing home side made the better start and took the lead through Costinha on two minutes. Although the Werkself had a number of chances to equalise, the clinical Greek side increased the lead to 2-0 shortly before half-time (45+1’). In the second half, Leverkusen once again gave their all and showed total commitment but, despite their best efforts, the Black and Reds were unable to break down the Olympiacos defence on the night.
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