"After much thought and countless scenarios regarding our future, we have finally come to the decision not to continue our journey with Bayer 04. We felt a responsibility to the club to inform them of this decision in good time," declared the twins in a joint statement. "This decision has been anything but easy not least because of the honest, fair and understanding relationship with the Leverkusen club management in the past and right up to today. Bayer 04 now have time to plan and that was important to us."
Bayer 04 sporting managing director Rudi Völler praised the "exceptional performances of both Bender brothers over the years. There are few players in the Bundesliga like Lars and Sven. They represent football class, extreme professionalism and absolute reliability plus determination and commitment," said Völler. "We need their qualities in the remaining six months to achieve our big targets. Exactly that ambition is evident in both of them who always give 100 per cent right to the end. And regarding Lars, I've hardly seen another player at Leverkusen who has identified so much with Bayer 04. We owe Lars a huge amount of gratitude."
The two 31-year-olds specifically expressed their close connection to Bayer 04. "At the end of the day, it was not a decision against the club but about health and family. We recognise it will be difficult to play football at this high level beyond the summer. Anybody who knows us, also knows we give 100 per cent every day. For us that has always been the basic requirement in training and in matches. Unfortunately, it's becoming increasingly more difficult for us to perform consistently at that level because of all the pain and physical problems, which are affecting us more and more."
Before ending their careers as Bayer 04 players, Lars and Sven Bender will continue to have the targets of the club as their priority: "Of course, we’ll do all we can to write a successful final chapter here at Leverkusen by ending a very successful season to date with the achievement of our ambitious targets."
And Lars Bender added after eleven years at Leverkusen: "I'll try to enjoy the remaining time and every moment as I have learned to value and love the club and all the wonderful people here. And I was and am proud of being part of the history of Bayer 04."
Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
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High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
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