The design of the new Bayer 04 home shirt has been designed together with kit supplier Castore in conjunction with Werkself fans. "The Bayer Cross is an important, identity-creating symbol for our supporters," said Marcus Breglec, chief marketing & innovation officer at Bayer 04. "A lot of fans asked for this to be more clearly represented on the Werkself home shirt." A second, much bigger cross is on the chest of the shirt in the style of the Bayer Cross on the club badge and the flags in the home end.
"It stands both for our tradition as well as our desire for high quality and performance," said Harald Hartel, head of brand at Bayer 04. "The Bayer Cross is well known throughout the world and people everywhere see it as a sort of seal of quality. Few clubs have such a strong trademark."
The new shirt has also gone down well with the players. "For me, the cross on the chest expresses a big sense of community, it's a great symbol of the togetherness of fans and the team," declared captain Lukas Hradecky.
The new home shirt is made 100% of polyester and has a stretch fit. Shirts are available in children's sizes 128 to 164 (at the price of €64.90) and adult sizes S to 5XL (at the price of €84.90).
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have appointed Carles Martínez Novell as the new head coach. The 42-year-old Spaniard worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. Martínez finished last term in ninth place with the club from the south of France. He will take over the Werkself on 1 July 2026 and has signed a contract to 30 June 2028. Martínez, whose contract with Toulouse expires at the end of the month, succeeds Kasper Hjulmand at Leverkusen, who is leaving the club after one season.
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Bayer 04 plans for the 2026/27 pre-season continue to take shape. The Werkself will kick off the new season in mid-July with the return to the training ground. The highlight will be the official season opener on 8 August at the BayArena, including a friendly against La Liga club Sevilla. Friendlies in Germany will take the team to neighbouring Monheim, Offenbach and Jena.
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Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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