"Exequiel Palacios has developed into a mainstay of our Werkself since signing in 2020. He has been one of the key players in recent years and will continue to take on a lot of responsibility in building a team that is hungry for success and capable of winning trophies," said Bayer 04 Managing Director Sport Simon Rolfes . "Pala's value to us has increased from season to season. His vast international experience as well as his outstanding strategic and individual qualities as a number six make him a key element in the construction of another highly ambitious team."
Palacios sees his contract extension at Leverkusen as the logical continuation of an absolute success story: "Bayer 04 have gone through a breathtaking development since I arrived in Germany five years ago. It's a great feeling to have been an important part of this process," says the 26-year-old. "Now we want to continue this story with a team that has everything it takes to continue playing a major part in national and European competitions. I'm really looking forward to the time ahead with Bayer 04."
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed 16-year-old midfield prospect Gabriel Minutillo on a long-term contract. The Germany youth international will play for the U19s this season.
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Bayer 04 preparations for the 2026/27 season are in full swing, with the first friendly now under their belts. Although there are still around seven weeks to go until the first Bundesliga home game in early September, there is already huge anticipation for the start of competitive action for head coach Carles Martínez’s team at the BayArena. For the Bundesliga home matches of the new season, here is the latest information regarding the first phase of single-match ticket sales. The tried-and-tested early-bird phase remains in place. From 23 to 31 July, tickets for matches will go on sale on weekdays; the early-bird phase ends on 5 August at the latest – provided tickets are still available by then.
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Like last year, Bayer 04 Women held their summer training camp in Rieden. Coach Roberto Pätzold gives his assessment of the time in the Upper Palatinate, discusses the integration of the 11 new players and the unusual team building measures, gives his thoughts on the friendly and looks ahead to the start of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga season in August.
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Just in time for the start of the summer holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia, the Werkself will hold another open training session on Tuesday 21 July. The session at the BayArena is scheduled to start at 11:00 CEST and will again be available to watch in a live stream. The fans who are there can look forward to a very special surprise.
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Bayer 04 Women rounded off their one-week training camp in the Upper Palatinate with their second friendly win of pre-season. Coach Roberto Pätzold's side beat Czech top-flight outfit Slovan Liberec 6-0 in a match consisting of 4 x 30 minutes. Maja Sternad (8'), Caroline Kehrer (55'), Natasha Kowalski (67', 84') with two direct free kicks, Valentina Mädl (97') and Justine Brandau (107') scored the goals for Leverkusen at 1.FC Rieden's Fenstertechnik-Weinfurtner-Arena.
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