Gianna Rackow leaves after eight years at Leverkusen. She joined the Bayer 04 junior section in 2013 and three years later made her debut in the FLYERALARM Women's Bundesliga before going on to make 71 appearances in eight years in a black and red shirt. She has also played for number of Germany junior teams. It remains to be seen who the 20-year-old will join next.
The Japan international Mina Tanaka ends a loan spell at Bayer 04. The striker joined Leverkusen in the winter on a six-month loan deal from the Japanese top-flight club INAC Kobe Leonessa. The 27-year-old played in all ten games after the winter break and she scored four goals in the Bundesliga.
Barbara Reger and Pauline Wimmer, whose contracts run out in the summer of 2021, are initially focusing on recovery. Reger suffered a torn cruciate at the beginning of May and has since undergone a successful operation. The 21-year-old is now in rehab. She also made the step up from the youth section – the midfielder has played for Bayer 04 since 2011 and has been in the Women's first-team since 2017. Reger has made 48 appearances.
Pauline Wimmer has been sidelined for a longer period: The 19-year-old also suffered a torn cruciate at the beginning of 2020. As it was the second within three years (the first was at the start of the 2017/18 season), there first had to be a stabilisation procedure on the bone affected and that was followed by another operation on the cruciate and a long time for recovery.
Sandra Maria Jessen's contract also runs out at the end of the month. The Iceland international will not be involved in any football in the coming months as the 26-year-old is expecting her first child in the summer. Jessen played for the Werkself Women from 2015 to 2017; she returned in the winter of 2019 and has made a total of 46 appearances for Bayer 04. Nicole Banecki's contract also runs out at the end of the month.
Linda Schöttler, general manager of women's football at Bayer 04, wishes the players, "all the best for the future. We thank everybody for their commitment, in particular Gianna and Barbara for their many years at Bayer 04. Both of them matured into Bundesliga players at Leverkusen. We wish Barbara and Pauline a speedy recovery and Sandra Maria all the best for the rest of her pregnancy and the birth of her child."
Bayer 04 and main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer have shown great commitment to the community as the sale of custom-designed T-shirts for charity in the Fanwelt as part of the “BarmeniaGothaer Brings Joy campaign raised a good €5,000. Bayer 04 matched this sum with an equal contribution. As a result, a total of €10,000 was presented to Edmond Tapsoba for his foundation ahead of the home match against Hamburg. The foundation supports people facing challenging daily circumstances in his home country of Burkina Faso.
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Bayer 04 host Hamburg at the BayArena for the first time since September 2017 on the final day of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season on Saturday (15:30 CEST). HSV are safe in their first campaign back in the top flight after back-to-back wins, but Leverkusen are unbeaten in their last 19 games against promoted teams as they go for the victory they need to have a chance to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. There’s also heavy discounts on food and drinks at the BayArena. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 34 fixture in our matchday news.
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As well as previously confirmed departures, Bayer 04 Women will also say goodbye to Vanessa Haim and Shen Menglu before Sunday’s final game of the season at home to Werder Bremen as the pair leave Leverkusen upon the expiration of their contracts.
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The last competitive match of the 2025/26 season takes place at the BayArena on Saturday 16 May (kick-off 15:30 CEST), where Hamburger SV are the visitors. At the pre-match press conference, head coach Kasper Hjulmand discussed the mindset and the approach for the crucial final game against HSV, among other topics.
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