The “2024 Trophy Tour Brazil” is the second official intercontinental journey for the club this year and will be led by Simon Rolfes, Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s Managing Director of Sport, accompanied by Kim Falkenberg, Head of Recruitment. The two executives will be joined in Sao Paulo by Bayer 04 Ambassador and Brazilian football hero Paulo Sergio. In September, CEO Fernando Carro represented the club on its initial “Trophy Tour” in New York City, USA.
In Brazil, Bayer 04 will reflect on last season’s historical success with partners, fans and the Brazilian football community. At the same time, the German Champions, DFB Pokal- and Supercup-Winners seek to further strengthen the bonds with Bayer offices globally and to explore various business opportunities in the region for the coming years. The rich heritage of Brazilian players at Leverkusen, including 21-year-old defender Arthur as a current representative, highlights the Latin American approach of Bayer 04.
“The history of Bayer 04 Leverkusen players is closely linked with Brazil,” said Rolfes. “There are so many great Brazilian stars and personalities that have contributed to our club over the decades, and we are proud to have had Arthur on our squad as part of three titles this past season. The trophies Arthur helped win are trophies that he has won for all the Brazilians that have played at Bayer 04 before. We are excited to represent our club and the Bundesliga on the whole throughout our visit next week.”
The delegation has four days of activities planned in Brazil from November 12-15:
“I have so many great memories of my years in Leverkusen” said Sergio, who played for the team from 1993-1997, making over 120 appearances. “It’s like a second family. While my generation was never able to win the league title for Leverkusen, all of us who played for Bayer 04 were so proud of what the team accomplished last year. I was lucky to have been able to travel to several games this spring to witness the historic season. It’s great to be able to share it with fans in Brazil.”
Leverkusen was only the fifth German club ever to win the domestic double and in the process became the first in Bundesliga history to finish the league campaign unbeaten. The team went 51 consecutive games without a defeat in 2023-24, the longest streak in the modern era, breaking the previous European record of 48 games without a loss set by Benfica in 1963-65. The streak continued all the way until the Europa League final in late May. The team then captured the Supercup in dramatic fashion on August 18th winning on penalties against Stuttgart to claim its 3rd trophy in 3 months: Meisterschale, DFB Pokal, Supercup.
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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