
"Demarai Gray is a tricky, very fast and penetrating winger who will give our attacking game an additional boost," said Bayer 04 sporting director Simon Rolfes in describing the right-footer who was a surprise Champion of England with Leicester City in 2016. "He’s capable of winning out in fast one-on-ones and bringing his teammates into play. Thanks to his experience in the Premier League, Demarai is a player who can help us straightaway."
Sporting managing director Rudi Völler sees Gray, who has dual English and Jamaican nationality, "as important strengthening our squad in view of the large number of games we will face in the second half of the season," said Völler. "Demarai is an unpredictable forward who will give us more options for the rest of the season."
For Gray, who played five games in the Champions League for the Foxes, the move to Bayer 04 is "great opportunity to gain new experience abroad at a very attractive club. The whole world was watching when the Bundesliga was the first big league to start playing again last year after the break caused by the coronavirus. I like German football," declared Gray. "I've seen how Bayer 04 attack, are aggressive with great technique going forward and like to dictate the game through possession. I'll fit in well. I can, and I would, like to develop here and be successful with this attractive team."

Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
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Bayer 04’s eight opponents in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League have been confirmed. At the draw on Friday 28 August held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, the Werkself were drawn against two opponents from each of the four pots. There are a total of four home and four away matches. Read on for details of opponents and fixture dates.
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In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-3 loss at SV 07 Elversberg on Matchday 1 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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