The video game manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA) in association with the German football league (DFL) announced the six nominations for the vote a few weeks ago. Werkself striker Patrik Schick came out on top against prestigious opposition in the month of December: Robert Lewandowski, Serge Gnabry (both Bayern Munich), Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig), Jesper Lindström (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Nico Schlotterbeck (SC Freiburg) were all nominated in addition to the Czech Republic international.
The Werkself number 14 scored an impressive eight goals in the four Bundesliga matches in the month, including his contribution as the first Werkself player ever to score four goals in Germany's top flight in the 7-1 victory over Greuther Fürth. Schick scored the other goals – two braces – against Eintracht Frankfurt (2-5) and TSG Hoffenheim (2-2).
Entitled to vote were the team captains of the 18 Bundesliga clubs (30% of the vote), a selected panel of pundits consisting of Bundesliga legends and media representatives (30%) plus fans from across the world with the biggest share of the vote (40%). Fans submitted their votes via the EA SPORTS FIFA 19 Website and were able to choose the performances of the Bundesliga players that most impressed them in that month.
Youngster Florian Wirtz won the vote for Player of the Month in September. The Werkself are the first team to have two winners in the current 2021/22 season.
The official award has been presented since the 2018/19 season. Schick's trophy is already the sixth to make its way to Leverkusen.
All Bayer 04 Players of the Month to date:
Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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Hans Sarpei was born on 28 June 1976 in Tema, Ghana, and came to Germany with his parents at the age of three, where he grew up in Cologne. Even before he was born, his mother and father worked in Hamburg in the import-export sector. There they met an older man who introduced them to German culture and supported them. Out of gratitude, Hans was later given his first name, although this man died before he was born. Hans comes from a sporting family; his older brother Edward and his nephews Hans Nunoo Sarpei and Kingsley Sarpei were or are also professional footballers.
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