"Over the course of his six years at Leverkusen, Wendell has become a key member of our squad," said sporting director Simon Rolfes in explaining the new deal with the 26-year-old. "As a full-back, he plays a significant role on the pitch and, beyond that, he very much identifies with the team and the whole club," added Rolfes. Wendell is very important to us as a player and also as a role model."
Sporting managing director Rudi Völler added his contribution to the deal: "Bayer 04 are a special club for Wendell. In the past, he's had a number of interesting offers but has always remained loyal to us. We're happy we can continue to rely on him."
For Wendell, the contract extension is "a fantastic business. Six years at the same club are not a given for a football player. I like to remember my conversations with Zé Roberto who recommended Bayer 04 to me before my move to Germany. He said it's a club where I can be happy. He didn't promise too much," Wendell vouched. "I have always felt at home here, every single day. This club has become my family. And I'm sure we can achieve great things with our brilliant team."
Bayer 04 entertain third-placed VfB Stuttgart in the penultimate Bundesliga home game. The match at the BayArena is today Saturday 27 April (kick-off: 18.30 CEST/live on Sky and on Werkself Radio). The latest information on the game, with fans again asked to follow traffic information, is here in the news in brief.
Show moreAfter three consecutive weeks of playing midweek, the Werkself have been preparing for the top-of-the-table clash against VfB Stuttgart over the past few days. Ahead of the home game on Saturday 27 April (kick-off 18:30 CEST, live on Sky), head coach Xabi Alonso praised the third-placed visitors and gave an update on the state of the pitch as well as personnel.
Show moreThere's no question: VfB Stuttgart are one of the biggest surprises of this season and have delighted their fans with exciting, successful attacking football. After suffering a rare defeat at Bremen last weekend, third-placed VfB are looking to get back to winning ways in this Saturday's big match against the Werkself (kick-off 18:30 CEST). The visitors will be without their playmaker in midfield, though. A look at our next opponents...
Show moreWhether at school, in grassroots sports or at the football stadium – racism and discrimination of all kinds are still prevalent in our society. For this reason, Bayer 04 has been organising preventative school workshops on the subject of racism for many years. This week, one of these workshops took place at the Lise-Meitner-Gymnasium not far from the BayArena as part of the Wiesdorf district matchday - and with a prominent guest: Werkself star Jonathan Tah worked intensively with the pupils on the topic. The German champion and international also spoke about his personal experiences with racism.
Show moreBayer 04 aren’t just the new champions of Germany but are also leading the way in engaging young fans after becoming the first Bundesliga club to release its own Pixi children’s book. Captain Lukas Hradecky and Josip Stanisic presented the 24-page publication entitled ‘Ein neuer Löwe für die Werkself’ (A new lion for the Werkself) at a reading for children in the BayArena's Schwadbud.
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