"We’ve been looking at Jonas for a long time and we are happy he's decided to join Bayer 04," said sporting managing director Simon Rolfes about the 2022 World Cup player. "Thanks to his vision, his outstanding technical ability as well as his experience, he is the type of player we’ve been looking for to strengthen our squad."
Jonas Hofmann started his professional career at TSG Hoffenheim. After five years at Borussia Dortmund, including a 12-month loan spell at Mainz 05, the Heidelberg-born player joined Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2016. The right-footer made a total of 184 Bundesliga appearances for the Foals scoring 40 goals and providing 40 assists. Hofman has four full international caps for Germany to date.
The new Leverkusen signing said: "I'm very grateful to Borussia for the past seven years. I had a brilliant time there. But recently I’v increasingly had the feeling of wanting to do something new. Bayer 04 fit the bill as the club has been amongst the top German sides for years and they are always keen to compete in Europe. The team is exciting and possesses an incredible amount of quality. I'm really looking forward to this next chapter."
Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without goalkeeper Mark Flekken and forward Nathan Tella for the time being.
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After a week in the Algarve, the Bayer 04 Women returned home on Saturday afternoon. The Werkself had six training sessions, two friendlies and a lot of time together as a team. Roberto Pätzold's team will be back in action in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga next Friday for the start of matchday 15.
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"We didn’t make the right decision at the right moments," said captain Robert Andrich after the 1-0 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim, where Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the game but failed to score. The Werkself also had two enforced substitutions due to injuries. Nevertheless, the coach, captain and debutant Janis Blaswich are positive about the coming weeks. The Werkself review.
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