
"A lot of different interests have to be considered in this process. It was and is important to us that there is no free ride for dubious business activities," said Fernando Carro, chairman of the Bayer 04 board.
FFP proved to be vulnerable in the past because rules could be avoided. "Against that background, we as the Bundesliga must and can live with the compromise reached," added Carro. The ECA with its 240 members, including numerous Bundesliga clubs such as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund alongside Bayer 04, has played a considerable part in the follow-up ruling to FFP. The results now have to be approved by the executive committee at UEFA.
Media reports have recently said that UEFA will decide on the updated FFP in April. It is believed clubs will only be able to spend up to 70% of their income on transfers, salaries and agents fees. But the salary cap demanded by many will not happen.
The difference between income and expenditure may be balanced out by external investors to the sum of up to €30 million per season. Up to now it has been €10 million per season. The unlimited flow of money from investors, primarily feared by German clubs, will thereby be avoided. The ECA has also decided to give €1 million to help people from the Ukraine affected by the war. This "first financial contribution" is to be used to support a range of initiatives by ECA member clubs.

Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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