Serie B club Venezia FC provide the first opposition for the Werkself in the New Year at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The kick-off against the team including former Bayer 04 player Joel Pohjanpalo is on Saturday 7 January at 15.00 CET. It will be the first meeting of the two clubs.
The second friendly in January is at the BayArena. Bayer 04 host FC Copenhagen in Leverkusen one week before the Bundesliga fixture at Borussia Mönchengladbach. The match on Sunday 15 January kicks off at 14.00 CET.
The Werkself and the top Danish club played each other in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers in 2014/15. The tie produced two wins for Bayer 04 (3-2 and 4-0) and secured progress to the group stage of Europe's premier club competition.
Match tickets for the home games against Venezia FC and FC Copenhagen go on sale on 20 December. Club members pay five euros and non-members seven euros.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with U19 goalkeeper Simeon Rapsch. The Germany youth international goalkeeper has signed a long-term contract with the Werkself running to 30 June 2029. The 18-year-old joined Leverkusen from FC Viktoria Köln in the summer of 2024.
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Ken Izekor is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen to join third-tier side Alemannia Aachen with immediate effect. The 19-year-old centre-forward joined the club from Alemannia in 2018, and Izekor is now returning to his hometown.
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The Golden Boy Top 100 traditionally lists Europe’s most promising young players. In the latest update, published to mark the start of the new season, four current Werkself players – alongside loanee Francis Onyeka – feature on the list. This means Bayer 04 have the most players in contention of any Bundesliga club.
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Bayer 04 have named Jorginho, a 1994 World Cup winner with Brazil, an official club legend. He is the second former Werkself player, after Paulo Sergio, to be accorded this special honour. For many years, the former Leverkusen defender has been deeply committed to helping people in need in his home city of Rio de Janeiro. More than 25 years ago, Jorginho launched the Bola pra Frente project, through which he uses the money he earned as a player – including during his time at Bayer 04 – to support children and young people in the favelas in particular. During a trip to Brazil lasting several days, Fernando Carro, CEO at Bayer 04, assured Jorginho of the club’s support for Bola pra Frente for at least another five years.
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Goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe will continue to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen next season. The loan of the Germany U23 international, who joined from Liverpool in the winter, has been extended by a further year.
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