
“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.”


In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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Rieden reloaded: Just like last year, the Bayer 04 Women’s team are spending their summer training camp in this idyllic corner of Bavaria. From this Sunday, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team will be based in Rieden in the Upper Palatinate for a week.
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Following the summer break, most of the players are back in Leverkusen. While two Bayer 04 first-team players are still in action at the World Cup, the players present officially kicked off the new season with fitness assessments. At the Werkstatt, the Bayer 04 rehabilitation and training centre, Robert Andrich, Edmond Tapsoba and the rest of the squad worked up quite a sweat in the sweltering summer heat. New signings Afonso Moreira and Kennet Eichhorn also successfully completed the day’s sessions alongside their new team-mates.
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