Bayer 04 qualified for next season’s Champions League campaign a week and a half ago and now 25 teams are through to the group stage. The latest to make it on Sunday were the Russian club Locomotive Moscow (including former Germany international Benedikt Höwedes) plus, from Italy, Inter Milan and, for the first time in the club’s history, Atalanta Bergamo with their German left-back Robin Gosens. The Werkself could face any of the three teams in the group stage but up to now they definitely will not play FC Salzburg or Valencia. Those two teams are in Pot 3 along with Bayer 04.
The line-up so far is (as at 28 May 2019): Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Bayer 04 (all Germany), Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur (all England), Juventus, Napoli, Atalanta, Inter Milan (all Italy), Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, Valencia (all Spain), Paris St. Germain, Lille OSC (both France), Zenit St. Petersburg, Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia), Benfica (Portugal), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), KRC Genk (Belgium), Galatasaray (Turkey) plus FC Salzburg (Austria).
If Arsenal, with former Bayer 04 goalkeeper Bernd Leno, win the Europa League final on Wednesday then the London club would be the fifth English team in the Champions League. The other places will be determined from the end of June via individual qualifying rounds.
The qualified clubs can not just look forward to unforgettable nights of football but also significant amounts of money. UEFA are expected to announce next week how high the bonuses will be for the participants. In comparison to the Europa League, it should be a financial quantum leap. In 2018/2019, UEFA distributed over €2 billion to the clubs and each of the 32 participants received starting bonus of 15.25 million. On top of that, there are performance bonuses. By comparison: Bayer 04 received a starting bonus of less than €3 million in the Europa League last season.
Next Saturday’s final between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur provides further impressive numbers. The match will be broadcast live in over 200 countries and between 300 and 400 million people will watch the final. That makes the Champions League final one of the biggest individual sporting events in the world – and a former Bayer 04 pro is centre stage. Heung-Min Son, who scored 29 goals in 87 games for the Werkself between 2013 and 2015, played an enormously important role in Spurs qualifying for the final of the Champions League for the first time. The South Korean demonstrated his ability in the quarter-finals against Premier League champions Manchester City with the only goal of the game in the first leg and a brace in the 4-3 defeat in the second. Now Son is about to play in the biggest Champions League game of his career. His first was with the Werkself: He provided the assist for Simon Rolfes to level at 1-1 in the 4-2 defeat against Manchester United in September 2013.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-3 loss against Werder Bremen on the 26th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 Women have finished in fifth place after the best Bundesliga season in the club's history in terms of points. Roberto Pätzold's side went down 3-1 at home to SV Werder Bremen on the final matchday. With 46 points and 15 wins, they've bettered the previous record campaign of 2024/25. Despite periods of pressure, Cornelia Kramer's 73rd-minute strike was not enough at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion, and the Werkself miss out on European qualification despite a strong end to the season.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a conract extension with home-grown talent Sofie Zdebel by a further year ahead of schedule. The 21-year-old Germany U23 international will stay at the club until 30 June 2028.
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After the final whistle in the home match against Hamburger SV, it showed once again that the Bayer 04 community sticks together. The team thanked the fans for their great support in a season with highs and lows and a sixth-place finish in the Bundesliga. The Black and Reds will compete in the UEFA Europa League next season. The last Werkself review in 2025/26 has all the analysis.
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Bayer 04 could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Hamburg in the final game of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season as they finish in sixth place and qualify for the UEFA Europa League. Patrik Schick missed a first-half penalty before Fabio Vieira put the visitors ahead on the hour. Jarell Quansah’s deflected header in the 79th minute earned a point to finish the campaign.
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