
The big question of "Ronaldo or Messi?" came straight away at the beginning. However, Mukiele and Lomb quickly agreed on the Argentinian. There were gasps around the room when Mukiele talked about playing with another famous star at Paris Saint-Germain: Kylian Mbappé (now at Real Madrid). Which left the question: "Mbappé or Haaland?“ The Frenchman obviously went for his compatriot.
The pair also revealed who their idols are. For Mukiele, as a defender there was no one better than Sergio Ramos, while Lomb named Manuel Neuer. But on the follow-up question of "Hradecky or Neuer?", the 31-year-old remained faithful to his goalkeeping colleague and Werkself captain Lukas Hradecky.





Talking of team-mates, the curious children were also interested to know which players in the squad the pair get on with best. Lomb answered diplomatically: "The nice thing about is is that we're very harmonious as a team and all get on well with each other. But I spend the most time with Rob [Andrich] and Jonas [Hofmann]." For Mukiele, Jerry [Frimpong] is his closest confidant and also works hard as the DJ in the dressing room, as the 26-year-old revealed.
DJ, footballer... steward: if Mukiele hadn't become a professional footballer, that would've been his dream career, he explained: "I like flying and I like learning lots of new languages, so I can imagine that I would've done that."





In the autograph round that followed, no wish was left unfulfilled. Selfies were taken, shirts and boots signed, and one or two extra questions were answered. Mukiele, for example, spoke to the kids about his hobbies and revealed that he regularly speaks to his mother on the telephone.
A budding young goalkeeper even got some tips from Lomb on positioning. After around an hour, it was onto the next engagement for the Werkself duo. For the kids of the Bayer 04 Football School, there was still a stadium tour, including a viewing of the trophies from the double season, on the schedule.

A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
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Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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Nathan Tella has extended his contract with Bayer 04 to 2031. In an interview with Werkself TV, the 26-year-old talks about fulfilling his dreams, his positive outlook on life and his goals for the future. He answers the questions in English - all except the last one, which he addresses directly to the fans...
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