
"Julian gives us a lot of stability and his experience is an important factor in our game," declared Rudi Völler, the Bayer 04 managing director sport. Sporting director Simon Rolfes sees Baumgartlinger as "an extremely hard-running and ball-winning player. You can rely on Julian and, with his top professional attitude, he plays a significant role both on and off the pitch."
Baumgartlinger was captain of Mainz 05 in 2016 before he joined the Werkself. "Leverkusen have made it possible for me to play at the highest level in the Champions League and the Europa League – and we are one of the best clubs in Germany. It's great fun being an important part of the team at this level and remains a great challenge," said Baumgartlinger.

Video game producer Electronic Arts (EA) has announced the nominees for the Men's and Women's Team of the Year (TOTY) for EA Sports FC 26. With Patrik Schick and Alejandro Grimaldo for the men and Vanessa Fudalla for the women, there are three Bayer 04 players included. Fans of the Black-and-Reds can vote for each top XI of 2025 from now until 18:59 CET on Monday 12 January.
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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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The Werkself host FC St. Pauli at the BayArena on matchday 22 in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The match is on Saturday, 14 February, at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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The Werkself host Mainz at the BayArena on matchday 24 in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The match is on Saturday, 28 February, at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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