The social media community primarily know Furkan Kayacik by the name 'Furkyplayz'. On his similarly named YouTube channel, he entertains more than 73,000 followers with his gaming content for the FIFA football game and he is also followed on Instagram by 12,600 people. "Furky is at home in the online gaming world and a familiar face on the circuit. He will strengthen our team and beyond that work as a content creator," explained Florian Dederichs, director of internationalisation & eSports at Bayer 04.
Kayacik most recently played for the TF eSports team (20 22 September 2021) and before that he was with JBG Gaming for a year. His greatest successes include a top eight finish in the prestigious Licensed Qualifier Event in Bucharest (FIFA 19) and first place in the WeekendLeague with 120 to 0 wins last December (FIFA 21). The year before, 'Furky' succeeded in securing 30 wins to 0 in under four hours in the WeekendLeague – a record time.
The 21-year-old is full of ambition and commitment for his time under the Bayer Cross. Kayacik: "We have a squad with great potential and we will work on our game every day. I want to win as many games as possible with my teammates." The new signing will take part in all competitions including the EA Global Series and the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL).
In addition to his role on the console, Kayacik will also work for Bayer 04 in the future as a content creator on social media and he will also entertain #B04eSports followers with videos on the club Twitch channel.
Here is the presentation of ‘Furky’ on Bayer 04 TV.
Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without goalkeeper Mark Flekken and forward Nathan Tella for the time being.
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After a week in the Algarve, the Bayer 04 Women returned home on Saturday afternoon. The Werkself had six training sessions, two friendlies and a lot of time together as a team. Roberto Pätzold's team will be back in action in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga next Friday for the start of matchday 15.
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"We didn’t make the right decision at the right moments," said captain Robert Andrich after the 1-0 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim, where Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the game but failed to score. The Werkself also had two enforced substitutions due to injuries. Nevertheless, the coach, captain and debutant Janis Blaswich are positive about the coming weeks. The Werkself review.
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