The 23-year-old joined the Werkself in 2014 and he made 215 appearances for Bayer 04. "Julian joined us as a 17-year-old at a time when he was sought after by a lot of clubs but he opted to play for us and he has developed wonderfully since then making his international debut during his time in Leverkusen," said sporting managing director Rudi Völler. "With him, our approach of bringing through young, highly talented players early at a top level, achieving a lot with them and thereby significantly increasing their transfer value worked out too. We would have liked to have held onto him a bit longer," declared Völler, "but with the signing of Kerem Demirbay from Hoffenheim we have already found a suitable replacement."
Bayer 04 sporting director Simon Rolfes said, "Over the past few months, Julian has matured into a top player in a different position under coach Peter Bosz. Now he has decided to play somewhere else after five and a half years. We have already reacted to that in terms of personnel," said Rolfes. "And we will continue to strengthen our squad to maintain our competitiveness next season."
The second friendly and the first goal for the Bayer 04 Women: The Werkself just missed out on their first win in the preseason away to top-flight Dutch side PEC Zwolle. The team led by coach Roberto Pätzold drew 1-1 on Friday afternoon in Wezep. As with the friendly against TSG Hoffenheim (0-2) a number of first-team players were absent. The coach once again shared out time on the pitch for the 20-player squad. The goal of the match was scored by summer signing Vanessa Fudalla (67').
Show moreContinuity under the Cross: After the successful season in 2024/25 with reaching the final of the VBL Club Championship, the two Leverkusen e-sports players Marc and Sean Landwehr have extended their contracts at Bayer 04 by an additional two years. Marc is thereby in his sixth year and Sean in his third year with the Werkself. Together with e-talent Marcus Hüttemann, who has also extended his stay at Bayer 04 Bayer year, completes the current squad for the 2025/26 season.
Show moreAn average of over 3,500 fans supported the Werkself at away games last season. Looking forward to the 2025/26 season, Bayer 04 now provide information on ticket sales for away games. The previous 0 sales phase is being replaced by the Regulars phase.
Show moreThe German Football League (DFL) has confirmed the details for the first five matchdays in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. Read on for details of the fixtures.
Show more