
With a record number of votes cast, the central defender achieved top spot with a vote of 15.9 per cent. In his third season at Bayer 04, the Germany international has developed into a truly reliable member of the back four and he recently extended his contract at the Werkself to 2023. The fans showed their appreciation for the performances and commitment levels of the 22-year-old by voting him Player of the Season. Tah will receive the award at the season launch event later in the summer.
Leon Bailey was just behind Tah on 14.5 per cent. The Jamaican got off to a flying start at Bayer 04 this season as he often left opponents standing and he played a major part in the Werkself success in the last campaign with 12 goals and six assists. Germany international and World Cup participant Julian Brandt was third with 13.7 per cent of the members' votes cast.
The close vote this year was also reflected in the results for places four to six: Bayer 04 legend Stefan Kießling, who retired as a professional footballer after the final game of last season, clocked up 12.6 per cent of the vote, captain Lars Bender 11.8 and midfielder Charles Aránguiz 10.4.
Bayer 04 are again holding a draw of all Club members participating in the vote for Player of the Season with some great prizes to be won. The top prize is two tickets for each of the three Werkself home games in the group stage of next season's UEFA Europa League. Other prizes include one home and one away shirt plus five pairs of tickets for a home game next term. Winners will be informed. Bayer 04 congratulate the lucky winners and hope they have great fun with the prizes.

In their third friendly of this pre-season, Bayer 04 played on home soil for the first time – and won there too! The Werkself claimed a comfortable 4-0 victory against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. Jeanuel Belocian (9’) and Nathan Tella (42’) gave a dominant Leverkusen a 2-0 lead at the break, which Afonso Moreira (51’) and Christian Kofane (53’) doubled after the break. Among the many second-half substitutions was Patrik Schick, who made his first friendly appearance of the summer.
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The Werkself are finally back. On Saturday 8 August, Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign with their opening match. But there’s far more than just a double-header in store for Werkself supporters. True to the motto ‘One day. Two teams. One club’, the BayArena and the Ulrich Haberland Stadium will be transformed into a world of excitement.
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The Werkself continue their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with their third friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Wednesday 29 July (kick-off 15:00 CEST). Werkself-TV is broadcasting the match live and in full in a stream from 14:50 CEST...

After the children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy grilled Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch last week, another group of 20 young Werkself fans gathered at the BayArena press conference room on Tuesday afternoon, 28 July . This time, the kids directed their questions at Tim Oermann and Jonah Berghoff. Defender Oermann raved about his school days, whilst talented midfielder Berghoff revealed to the young footballers, amongst other things, who his favourite player is – and he is also at Bayer 04. To round things off, the pair naturally obliged with all requests for autographs and selfies.
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Bayer 04 are back on the pitch. Following the first training sessions, the Werkself play the first pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 18. The match against Oberliga club Sportfreunde Baumberg kicks off at 15:30 CEST in Monheim am Rhein. Fans unable to attend the match can watch head coach Carles Martínez’s first game in charge for free via a livestream at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app, as well as on Werkself.tv (exclusively for members). Just log on and watch the games live. All the other Werkself preseason friendlies leading up to the 2026/27 season will also be streamed live for free.
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