
"We've discussed it over the past two weeks and agreed it unanimously today. The players are ready to forego part of their wages to support the club in their efforts to overcome the coronavirus crisis," said Bayer 04 captain Lars Bender.
"A gesture" for Rudi Völler, "that has not surprised us after discussions in recent weeks," declared the sporting managing director. "Of course, all of the coaching staff, the directors and management have adopted the same position."
On the day of the first training session in groups of two, Bender added, “today, we again achieved full appreciation in the empty BayArena of how much the different members of staff bring this club to life and how important everybody really is to achieve the best possible conditions for our job. As players, we want to make a contribution so that no single member of staff has to worry and that everything here at Bayer 04 will carry on in a sensible and reliable manner. That is our concern and we're happy to do it."

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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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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Bayer 04 host FC St. Pauli in the quarter-finals of the 2025/26 DFB Pokal. The tie will be played on Tuesday, 3 February 2026, at the BayArena with the kick-off at 20:45 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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Today, Tuesday 16 December (live on B04eSports Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports players face the final three matches of the online preliminary round of Showdown Three in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. In addition to 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 and SV 07 Elversberg, they will play Fortuna Düsseldorf, who are still unbeaten in this third showdown. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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