
Rudi Völler on...
...the signing of Kerem Demirbay and the retention of Kai Havertz:
"I said it to the coach again today: It would have been impossible to have made the decisions about Demirbay and Havertz a couple of years ago. The fact we have been able to hold on to the best player Germany has produced in the past few years and we have not become weaker, is a sign that we don't want to just bring young players through."
...further transfer activity:
"We made the most important decisions a few weeks ago. Everything we're doing now is fine tuning. Where can we improve? Where can bring in new players? We'll still do something. We want to make the squad a bit better. At the same time, I won't lose any sleep if we don't do any more business – given the squad we have now."
...dominoes:
"In Germany, there is always the feeling you have do do all you can in the transfer market as soon as possible. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge explained it well. Once the first domino has fallen, the top stars move on and that gets things going. With Griezmann, a big domino has definitely fallen so let's see what happens in the next few weeks. The main thing is there is a young player at Bayer Leverkusen who won't fall over. He stays upright."
...rotation:
"We are in three competitions again and we want to go as far as possible in the cup competitions. That's why we want to give the coach the opportunity to rotate. But it has to be right. There will soon be trouble if the squad is too big."
...targets for the coming season:
"Of course, we have ambitious targets. We want to qualify for the Champions League again. But you can't forget that there are four or five other teams behind Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, who both want to be champions, that want to be in the Champions League. But we have the ambition to do it again. But everything has to be in place. As was the case in the second half of last season."
...the DFB Cup:
"The cup is the competition you can win quickest. It is possible. But we can't afford to play like we did at Heidenheim last season. Of course, the desire is certainly there and the last time we were in the cup final was in 2009 against Werder Bremen. The atmosphere in Berlin is exceptional. And the sporting level was evident this year. Bayern against Leipzig was a great final. Leipzig competed on equal terms."
...the departure of Julian Brandt:
"In Julian Brandt we have lost a wonderful player. Even though we have received good money for him – if you think about what we spent on him five and a half years ago – I would have liked to hold on to him. But we have clearly shown with our transfers that we are prepared for departures and that Bayer 04 Leverkusen always carries on.
...Brandt's successor as the number 10:
"That position is made for Kai Havertz. He's a natural number ten. He's the biggest talent in that position for the past ten years."
...the future of Aránguiz:
"Charlie Aránguiz will not leave us in this transfer window. I don't get the impression he wants to go to England. If there is home sickness then a move to South America may be on the cards. Let's wait and see what happens. We've had good talks with his agent. We can be optimistic. I definitely hope that we can keep hold of him beyond the summer of 2020.


Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss at VfL Wolfsburg on the 20th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-1 draw against FC Bayern Munich on Matchday 26 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Bayer 04 were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Bayern Munich in an eventful Matchday 26 fixture in the Bundesliga. Aleix Garcia had given the Werkself the lead inside six minutes, but Bayern levelled in the second half through Luis Diaz, despite Nicolas Jackson having been send off before the break. Diaz was then dismissed himself as Leverkusen pushed for a winner, which failed to materialise as Jonas Hofmann saw a late goal ruled out.
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Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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