All three received an official farewell at the last home game of the season against Schalke 04. The two managing directors Fernando Carro and Rudi Völler thanked the trio for their commitment to Bayer 04.
Jonas Boldt worked for the Werkself for a total of 15 years. It began in 2003 with a placement; in 2007 the man from Nuremberg joined the scouting department. As a scout, head scout, sporting manager and finally sporting director – the 37-year-old has played a significant part in all the transfers in recent years thus making a contribution to the success of the Werkself. At the end of November last year, Jonas Boldt decided to leave his post as sporting director and the club at the end of the season.
While Boldt leaves Bayer 04 after a long stay, Isaac Kiese Thelin and Thorsten Kirschbaum only moved to Leverkusen in the summer of 2018. Kiese Thelin joined the Werkself from Anderlecht on a season-long loan. Last term the Sweden striker made 14 appearances in all competitions and scored one goal.
Goalkeeper Thorsten Kirschbaum also leaves the club after one season. The 32-year-old was the third choice shot-stopper in this campaign behind Lukas Hradecky and Ramazan Özcan. In the middle of December the number 24 made his competitive debut for the Black and Reds in the 5-1 win at AEK Larnaca in the Europa League – it was also Kirschbaum’s first game in a European cup competition.
From the 2027/28 season, the Women’s Bundesliga will be organised by an independent league association. Following the unanimous decision taken at the DFB Bundestag (national conference) on Friday afternoon, the league’s separation from the DFB is now official.
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The next home fixture is here: Following the winning start to the UEFA Europa League against NK Celje, the Werkself host RB Leipzig at the BayArena on matchday 4 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga campaign. The match on Sunday, 20 September, kicks off at 15:30 CEST. At the pre-match press conference, head coach Carles Martínez spoke about the qualities of the opposition and the work being done to improve his team’s performance. The Spaniard also provided updates on Ibrahim Maza and Montrell Culbreath.
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Following the Bundesliga clash against RB Leipzig (Sunday, 20 September, 15:30 CEST), some of the Werkself first team players will be heading off for the first international break of the season. Here is an overview of the Bayer 04 players called up for their national teams and all the details of their upcoming matches.
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A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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