At the end of last week, Andrey Lunev signed a two-year deal in Leverkusen. The 29-year-old goalkeeper was at Zenit St. Petersburg for the previous four and a half years and in that time he won the Russian league title three times and the domestic cup competition once.
Lunev’s excitement at the new chapter at Bayer 04 was clear to see during his first session on the training ground at the BayArena. With a little smile, the 1.93 metre shot-stopper stepped onto the turf with eleven teammates in the morning and the Russian trained with the players left in Leverkusen a couple of hours later in the afternoon. The reason for splitting the Werkself into two groups: There were further performance tests at the BayArena on Monday.
Florian Wirtz, Kerem Demirbay, Karim Bellarabi and Co. completed numerous one-on-one moves in an enclosed space in the morning and they also tested Lunev, Lennart Grill and Maximilian Neutgens between the sticks. 'Training group 1' ended the session by cooling off in a pool next to the pitch – the players in action in the afternoon completed a similar programme.
Offensive player Samed Onur will now play in the Turkish top-flight. The 18-year-old, who spent nine years in the youth section at Bayer 04, has signed a contract with Fatih Karagümrük. The Istanbul team ended last season in eighth place. Onur says about his time under the Bayer Cross: "Many thanks to Bayer 04 for almost ten great years at Leverkusen. In spite of a number of setbacks, I always enjoyed being on the pitch. I had a great grounding here, was able to make my debut for the first team and I gained lots of friends. My journey is now taking me elsewhere but I will always look back at this time with great pleasure and pride. Thank you." We wish you lots of success in Istanbul, Samed.
Cem Türkmen also moves abroad with immediate effect. The 19-year-old central midfielder signed a contract with the French top-flight newcomers Clermont Foot 63. "I grew up at Leverkusen, learned to play football here and made my first team debut. I will never forget that exciting time," declared Türkmen who played in a Werkself shirt for 13 years. In the new season, the midfielder will play for the Austrian second division club FC Austria Lustenau on loan. All the best to you too, Cem.
Hans-Peter Lehnhoff has long been a key personality at Bayer 04. The man for all seasons ended his playing career with the Werkself after five years in 1999 and since then he has worked on organisational matters relating to the Werkself. When time permits, he also plays for the Bayer 04 Veterans team. And he is also considered to be unbeatable at football tennis.
Lehnhoff celebrated his 58th birthday on Monday. And, as usual, he was at the BayArena on his birthday following the Werkself sessions on the training ground. We wish you the best of health – for many more years.
The Werkself host Paris Saint-Germain on the third matchday of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, 21 October (kick-off: 21:00 CEST) in what promises to be a thrilling encounter at the BayArena. Ahead of the clash against the reigning champions from the French capital, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the positive development of his team and the great qualities of PSG. Defender Loïc Badé spoke about the great motivation for the match against the top team from his home country.
Show moreWith two wins against Atalanta and Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain have made a perfect start to the league phase of the UEFA Champions League. The defending champions visit the BayArena on Tuesday, 21 October (kick-off: 21:00 CEST). The Werkself will have their work cut out for them on Matchday 3. PSG's attacking line-up is one of the best that European club football has to offer. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show moreThe Bayer 04 U19s got their UEFA Youth League campaign off to a flying start with two wins. After the successful duels with FC Copenhagen (2-0) and PSV Eindhoven (3-2), the top team from Paris Saint-Germain now awaits. The home game against the youngsters of the reigning Champions League winners on Tuesday, 21 October (kick-off: 14:00 CEST/livestream on bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app), at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium will be a challenge, not least due to several players missing from the Werkself squad - but one that head coach Kevin Brok and his team are happy to accept: "We want to get the maximum out of every game, this time too!"
Show moreAfter a flawless tournament with only victories in the group and knockout stages, Argentina narrowly missed out on the title at the U20 World Cup in Chile. In the final on Monday night, Bayer 04 player Alejo Sarco and his fellow countrymen lost 2-0 to Morocco. Both goals were scored in the first half of the match played in Santiago de Chile. Sarco played for the first 60 minutes.
Show moreWerkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-5 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 7th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
Show more