
"In Leon Bailey we have brought in another highly promising player on a long-term deal," declared Bayer 04 CEO Michael Schade. "This lad was also high up on the wish list of many other European clubs. That makes as even happier to have won out against such strong competition."
Sporting director Rudi Völler believes Bailey, who is entitled to play in the Champions League in spite of Europa League appearances for Genk, fits in perfectly with the Werkself system. "He's an unusually quick, very tricky player who will give our attack an additional boost. We are sure Leon Bailey will be a big hit for us."
The player is very happy to wear the Werkself shirt. “Bayer 04 are a good club. I’d like to take my next important step here. Leverkusen are well known as a club where you can really develop. And the way they play football is attractive. I like that,” said Leon Bailey who will wear the number nine shirt this season.


The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-3 loss at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 33 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Down to fifth from fourth place despite taking an early lead: in the head-to-head for a Champions League spot, Bayer 04 were 1-0 up at VfB Stuttgart with just a minute played thanks to an Aleix Garcia strike, but ultimately lost 3-1 (2-1) to the more determined hosts. It meant the Swabians leapfrogged the Werkself in the Bundesliga table on the penultimate matchday.
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Today sees Bayer 04 go head-to-head with their next direct rivals in the race for Champions League qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST). Opponents Stuttgart are currently fifth in the table, level on points with the Werkself but one place below them due to a three-goal inferior goal difference. The Black and Reds' record at Bad Cannstatt tells a clearer story: they've not lost at VfB for over 16 years. One important factor in securing what would be three crucial points away from home is Leverkusen's strength on the counter-attack. Whilst Stuttgart are also extremely dangerous going forward, they will be without their captain. Today’s matchday news.
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