“After a total of 16 eventful and memorable, very demanding and always exciting years at Bayer 04, I will now pursue my career in a different direction,” said Simon Pallmann. “I’m looking forward to new and exciting projects and challenges. Even though I have consciously taken this step, it is very difficult to say goodbye to Bayer 04,” declared the graduate business administrator. “I wish the club and its staff all the very best.”
Fernando Carro, chairman of the board: “On behalf of Bayer 04, I’d like to say a big thank you to Simon Pallmann for all his work. Mr Pallmann has worked for our club over a long period with great professionalism. With his expertise, he has played a big part in Bayer 04 today being a recognised and reliable entity in the football business at home and abroad. I wish him every success for the future.”
For sporting managing director Rudi Völler, Pallmann has, “always been a reliable and loyal representative of our club in all the years we’ve worked together. Simon is particularly at home on the stage of international football,” said Völler. “He represented us brilliantly with his organisational responsibilities at a lot of games in the Champions League and Europa League and he was always a reliable partner of the clubs and associations both in Europe and in the Bundesliga. I wish Simon all the best and I’m sure he will be very successful in the future.”
Midfielder Ruby Grant is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and joining Portuguese runners-up Sporting CP a year before her contract expires. The 24-year-old has been at the Werkself since January 2025.
Show more
Bayer 04 have loaned Brazilian full-back Arthur to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for one year. Arthur Augusto de Matos Soares – the full name of the right-back – has a contract with Leverkusen until 30 June 2031. At Werder, the 23-year-old is expected to make an impact and help the long-established club further consolidate their position in the Bundesliga.
Show more
Bayer 04 have loaned defender Jeanuel Belocian to Spanish top-flight side Racing Santander. The 21-year-old defender joins the team currently ninth in La Liga until the end of the current 2026/27 season. Belocian’s contract remains valid until 30 June 2029. Last season, the 1.86-metre-tall U21 international was loaned to VfL Wolfsburg for six months.
Show more
He knows the dressing room, the pitch and the club. But, above all, he knows the feeling of playing for the Werkself at the BayArena: Moussa Diaby is back in Leverkusen after three years. The lightning-fast winger has signed a contract with Bayer 04 until 2031 and he will once again wear the number 19 jersey. The left-footed player previously played for the club from 2019 to 2023, having arrived in the Rhineland from his native France as a promising young talent and eventually leaving the club – having established himself as one of the Bundesliga’s best attackers – to join Aston Villa in the Premier League. Now he has returned to Bayer 04 from Al-Ittihad FC in Saudi Arabia.
Show more
