
“Exequiel Palacios has established himself as an incredibly important player at the Werkself. The fact he was a key member of the Argentina team at the World Cup in Qatar underlines his qualities as a team and individual player,” said Simon Rolfes, Bayer 04 sporting managing director. “Exequiel has often and successfully put his exceptional power and aggression on the pitch as well as his strategic and playing qualities to the benefit of our team. We are convinced he can assume an even more key role in the future.”
The 24-year-old Palacios believes his original assessment of Bayer 04 is fully justified after three and a half years at Leverkusen. “The club has fulfilled everything they promised from when I signed,” said Palacios. “I really feel at home here in Leverkusen and I’ve been able to keep on developing as a player. And the great reputation of Bayer 04 back home has ensured I’ve always remained in the reckoning with the Albiceleste. I’ve become a South American champion and World Cup winner with Argentina. It’s clear I want to win trophies with the Black and Reds now.”

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...

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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Bayer 04 is redesigning the public catering at the BayArena and Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion for the start of the 2026/27 season. Together with new catering partner Aramark, processes will be developed and the service at the stadium will be improved in a targeted way.
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The German Football Association (DFB) has officially recognised Bayer 04 as a centre for the development of female talent for the 2026/27 season. The club was awarded that role on 1 January 2026, and this status has now been renewed.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have sold young defender Andrea Natali to AZ Alkmaar on permanent terms. The 18-year-old Italian was on loan at the Dutch club last season, where he mainly played for the reserve team in the second division.
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