
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.

The second European away game takes the Werkself to the Portuguese capital Lisbon. Kasper Hjulmand's team will face record champions Benfica on Wednesday, 5 November (kick-off: 20:00 GMT, 21:00 CET) on matchday 4 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League. As usual, we will take you along on the #aCROSSeurope journey and report from Lisbon. The times given are Central European Time.
Show more
The Werkself beat Benfica 1-0 on Matchday 4 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase to seal three crucial points! Both teams had promising chances in the first half, but the contest was goalless at half-time. Substitute Patrik Schick headed in to score the only goal after the restart (65’). The home side went looking for an equaliser but Bayer 04 defended passionately to see out the storm.
Show more
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 win against Hamburger SV on the 9th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
Show more
The Werkself consolidated their position among the top teams in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga thanks to a last-minute goal on Wednesday evening. Roberto Pätzold’s team beat Hamburger SV 2-1 at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. Kristin Kögel (14’) and Caroline Kehrer (90’+5) scored for Bayer 04. The result takes Bayer 04 Women onto 19 points, third in the table behind top two Bayern Munich (25) and VfL Wolfsburg (22).
Show more
One Bayer 04 player in particular is looking forward to the Werkself’s Champions League match away at Benfica on Wednesday 5 November (kick-off at 21:00 CET). Alejandro Grimaldo returns to his old stomping ground for the first time since he joined Bayer 04 two years ago. He encounters a Portuguese side that are unbeaten in the domestic league but under pressure in the UEFA Champions League having not taken any points, even under new coach José Mourinho. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in Lisbon.
Show more