…his first impressions of Bayer 04: The players, staff and management – have all been really nice to me and they made me feel positive straight away. I’d like to thank everybody for that. It was a good start for me here in Leverkusen. Now it’s all about continuing to work hard and fulfilling expectations.
…his style of play: I left my home country of the Netherlands for England at the age of 16. Before that, I’d already been in the youth teams at Ajax for eight years. They gave me a very good footballing education. I’d describe my playing style as a mix of Dutch and English football. Both the experiences from my time at Ajax and the time at Manchester United help my game to continue developing now.
…the advantage of having a fellow Dutchman as head coach at Bayer 04 in Peter Bosz: Of course, it’s a positive. But the main reason for my decision to join Bayer 04 was the club as a whole. Simon Rolfes and the other members of management explained the club’s approach to the game and they gave me a positive feeling from the start.
…his departure from Manchester: Unfortunately, I was injured for a long time from the end of my loan period at Fulham (2018/19, ed.). After my torn cruciate, Solskjaer (Manchester United head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, ed.) gave me the chance of another season. I’m very grateful to him for that. But you have to play regularly at my age. And unfortunately that wasn’t the case at the end. That made the move in the winter a good decision.
…the influence of his schoolmate and United teammate Marcus Rashford, who’s known for his massive social commitment: What Marcus has achieved off the pitch in the past few years is wonderful and absolutely impressive. He has inspired a lot of people with his ideas and projects, including me. I wanted to help out in my hometown Amsterdam and, above all at the start of the pandemic, I supported a lot of families with food and other needs of daily life. The feedback from the people moved me and really pleased me.
…similarities between Bayer 04 and the English record champions Manchester United: Both clubs have a great reputation all over Europe. They both also have very experienced management who are extremely professional.
…winning the Europa League final in 2017 with Manchester United against Ajax then under head coach Peter Bosz: I haven’t talked to him about the game yet. But I don’t think he’d like to talk about it. (He laughs) We have a chance of winning that title with Bayer 04 this season. And I also hope to be able to experience the feeling of triumph this season for the club, the fans and our coach. Bayer 04 did very well in the Europa League last season and were unlucky to get knocked out by Inter Milan in the end. I hope we will all be able to celebrate together this year.
The final whistle of the current 2025/26 season marks the end of a unique partnership for Bayer 04 Leverkusen. After more than three decades of collaboration and highly eventful times, the Bundesliga football club and the private brewery Bitburger are going their separate ways.
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Around four months after their bitter exit in the DFB Pokal Round of 16, the Bayer 04 Women are once again away to Hamburger SV. On Monday night (18:00 CEST), the Werkself will not only be looking to pick up important points in the final phase of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga at the Volksparkstadion, but also to make amends for their defeat on penalties.
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A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
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