
"Uwe Seeler is undoubtedly one of the greatest players Germany has ever had. For following generations of players, including mine, Uwe was an absolute role model," said Simon Rolfes, Bayer 04 sporting managing director. "I played together with his grandson Levin Öztunali at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Our deepest sympathies go to him and all the members of his family."
Rudi Völler, member of the Bayer 04 shareholders committee, said: "It's a shock for me. My thoughts are with his family and my deepest condolences go to them. Uwe was a wonderful man, one of Germany's biggest sporting legends has left us."
Seeler scored 404 goals in 476 appearances for Hamburg SV and he won the German league title and the DFB Cup with the Hanseatic club. He made 72 international appearances for Germany as the centre-forward and he scored 43 goals for his country. He played in four World Cup finals and was a runner-up at Wembley in 1966. He was named honorary captain by the German Football Association (DFB) in 1972. He played a big part in society and he was the first athlete to be awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1970.

The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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