“As a child of the Bundesliga, I find it incredible that our football is now in serious existential difficulty,” said Rudi Völler, sporting managing director at Bayer 04. “I started playing in the second division, had a great time back then and I know and value both leagues – they are precious and we have to come together to protect them. With all the rivalry between the clubs, it’s important now for us to help each other.”
Fernando Carro, chairman of the board: “The survival of several clubs is under threat. We feel compelled to make a contribution to the club community. At the end of the day, everybody involved shares an interest in maintaining the stability of the league structures. Only then can the Bundesliga and second division be in a position to guarantee the charisma and attraction in the future that we’ve all benefited from in the past.”
Bayer 04 and the other three participants in the current Champions League campaign have initially decided not to take up their share of as yet undistributed national DFL media income for the coming season. This sum, that currently amounts to 12.5 million euros for the current distribution fund, is topped up by the four clubs in the sum of 7.5 million euros from their own funds. The criteria for distributing the 20 million euros will be set by the DFL management committee.
“This initiative underlines the fact that solidarity in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 is not lip service. The DFL management committee is very grateful to the four Champions League participants on behalf of the community of all clubs,” explained Christian Seifert, spokesperson for the DFL management committee.
Rudi Völler added: “We all bear responsibility for the Bundesliga to continue as before. Not just from self-interest as professional football in Germany is not just a business and also not just an important factor as an employer and tax payer in this country. Football brings people together and is particularly valuable in difficult times as social support.”
BIOGENA is the new performance partner for the Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team. Under a partnership initially set to run for three years, the club and the leading Austrian micronutrient company are pooling their expertise in the areas of health, fitness and top-level performance.
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100 children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy had the chance to gain exclusive insights: As part of the summer camp, the young footballers headed inside the BayArena at midday on Tuesday, 21 July, where they were due to meet Werkself keepers Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch in the press conference room. The two players took plenty of time to answer every question from the inquisitive audience – whether it was about their own careers or their first impressions of the new head coach. Finally, there was even time left to sign autographs for the young fans.
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Alejo Sarco has left Bayer 04 Leverkusen to join Sporting Gijón in Spain’s second division. Bayer 04 have secured a buy-back clause for the 20-year-old Argentine striker, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
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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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