Who is better, Ronaldo or Messi? This question once again divided opinion, as it did among the more than 100 kids present at the Bayer 04 Football School when Borja Iglesias put it back to them in eager anticipation. Shortly afterwards, however, everyone was in agreement when the Werkself pro asked the kids for their opinion of his teammate Florian Wirtz - hands immediately went up in unison in the young audience.
Iglesias went on to say that he even won 1-0 in Portugal with the Spanish national team against Cristiano Ronaldo, although he conceded a few goals against Messi with his clubs in the Spanish league. However, his own childhood idols were not CR7 or Messi: "As a striker, I naturally thought Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres were great. I even know Torres personally, which is a great honour for me." The Spaniard also revealed that pepperoni pizza is his absolute favourite food. "Even though I'm not allowed to eat it that often, of course," he joked.
Even after half an hour, there were no fewer raised hands from the curious kids, who went into the press conference fully prepared and, like the real journalists, peppered the striker with tricky questions - such as what drew him to Leverkusen. "It's always been a dream of mine to play football outside of Spain," explained Iglesias. "That's why it wasn't really difficult for me to come here. And I felt at home here right from the start. Bayer 04 is a big club, but also a very familiar one." It was therefore easy for him to settle in quickly, he added: "We all get on really well as a team. Obviously I speak the same language as Grimaldo, but I also have a very good relationship with Flo and Jona [Jonathan Tah]. And Jerry [Jeremie Frimpong] is a real joker!"
Afterwards, the Spaniard naturally left no selfie or autograph request unfulfilled. One little visitor had even prepared something very special and presented Iglesias with a picture he had painted himself. The 31-year-old was touched and summarised afterwards: "It's a great event, it's a huge thing for the children and you can tell how excited they are. But also how well they have prepared. It was really great fun and very refreshing," and jokingly added: "But I'll have to put my hand in the ice barrel first after signing so many autographs." (laughs) Let's see which player will answer the questions of the young journalists next week...
Want to become part of the Bayer 04 Football School? No problem! HERE you'll find all the information.
Winger Synne Skinnes Hansen is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen at the end of the season. The 29-year-old, who will be out of contract, is set to join Valerenga IF back home in Norway.
Show moreRüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed to loan U19 striker Artem Stepanov to FC Nürnberg, currently tenth in Bundesliga 2, for the 2025/26 season. The Ukrainian centre-forward is set to gain match practice at a high level under the guidance of FCN coach and World Cup winner Miroslav Klose. The loan is due to run for twelve months.
Show moreThe last home game of the season for the Bayer 04 Women against RB Leipzig on Saturday (12:00 CEST) will be a special experience for fans. As part of the family matchday, Bayer 04 are offering fans a wide-ranging programme of events in and around the Ulrich Haberland Stadium similar to the game against Werder Bremen. This will include three special prizes for supporters to win.
Show more