Fernando Carro, CEO at the Werkself, is looking forward to the partnership: “We have found an innovative partner in Castore whose ambitions very much fit in with Bayer 04. Both the quality of the products as well as the digital and international approach of the company has impressed us. Together with Castore, we want to set new standards in the future primarily in the areas of sponsorship and target group activation.”
Tom Beahon, co-founder of Castore, said: “It‘s a significant step for us to start working in the German market with an internationally oriented club with such a history. When we set up Castore the vision of my brother and I was to see world-class athletes wear our products and now we have taken another important step in that direction. It’s an honour that Bayer 04 have chosen Castore. Our values and ambition of wanting to be the best go perfectly together.”
Castore was founded in 2015 and quickly established a reputation as a young and dynamic start-up in the premium sportswear sector. The brand has become well-known through a partnership with Wimbledon and Olympic winner Andy Murray who is now a shareholder in the company. In football, Castore partners with Rangers FC, Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, and have also just launched a Formula One partnership with McLaren Racing. Bayer 04 will be the first club in the Bundesliga to have a partnership with the British company.
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 personalised 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…
Show more
With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
Show more
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
Show more
The ‘year after’ the most successful year in the club's history brought many changes at Bayer 04. In an exclusive double interview with bayer04.de shortly before the Christmas break, Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes spoke about building a new team capable of winning trophies, the work of coach Kasper Hjulmand, the young new signings who have quickly developed into key players, and their personal plans for the Christmas holidays. Their outlook for the coming year also shows that the potential is far from exhausted and ambitions remain high.
Show more
Last-minute ecstasy, huge disappointment and a historic performance on the European stage - 2025 was a real emotional roller coaster, especially for the U19s. A rousing run in the knockout phase secured the team a place in the final of the German championships, where they lost by the narrowest of margins. Despite the departure of several key players, the young Werkself team quickly regained their usual strength and qualified for the knockout rounds in the UEFA Youth League for the first time at the end of the year. In 2025, youngsters Jeremiah Mensah and Montrell Culbreath made their debuts in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. The other youth teams also contributed great performances and a number of trophies to the collective Black and Red success, while the successful Bayer 04 Future Kids project broke new ground. Read on for the 2025 review of the youth teams.
Show more
