
"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."

Job done: the Bayer 04 eSports team defeated SV Darmstadt 98 in the play-offs to secure their consecutive participation in the VBL Club Championship final. The journey continues now for Leverkusen on Saturday 7 March (from 17:00 CET) with a last-16 encounter at Hamburger SV.
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Werkself TV shows highlights of the 0-0 draw against Olympiacos in the second leg of the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league...
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In addition to the joy of reaching the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, the Werkself were particularly pleased with their next clean sheet and their focussed defensive performance. Although there was self-criticism after the 0-0 draw against Olympiacos in the play-off second leg, Jonas Hofmann aptly summed the position after the game: "What counts in knockout matches is going through." And one young man in particular will not forget this game in a hurry. The Werkself review.
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A disciplined defensive performance in the second leg saw Bayer 04 prevail against Olympiacos in the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26. Thanks to the 2-0 away win in the first leg, the goalless draw at home at the BayArena was enough to ensure progress to the next round. The Black and Reds kept their opponents away from their goal for the best part of 90 minutes.
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Bayer 04 can go through to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the ninth time tonight, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET) and be in the top 16 clubs in Europe. A good omen: Leverkusen have progressed to the next round after winning the first leg in 20 of their 22 knockout rounds in European competitions to date. For their part, Greek record champions Olympiacos rested several players for last weekend’s league fixture ahead of the play-off second leg at the BayArena and will now do everything in their power to turn the tide with their usual aggressive and high pressing. The discussions on Werkself radio are likely to be just as intense as the battle on the pitch, with commentator Florian Bechholz welcoming honorary captain Stefan Kießling and goalkeeper Mark Flekken. Today’s matchday news.
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