Gianna Rackow leaves after eight years at Leverkusen. She joined the Bayer 04 junior section in 2013 and three years later made her debut in the FLYERALARM Women's Bundesliga before going on to make 71 appearances in eight years in a black and red shirt. She has also played for number of Germany junior teams. It remains to be seen who the 20-year-old will join next.
The Japan international Mina Tanaka ends a loan spell at Bayer 04. The striker joined Leverkusen in the winter on a six-month loan deal from the Japanese top-flight club INAC Kobe Leonessa. The 27-year-old played in all ten games after the winter break and she scored four goals in the Bundesliga.
Barbara Reger and Pauline Wimmer, whose contracts run out in the summer of 2021, are initially focusing on recovery. Reger suffered a torn cruciate at the beginning of May and has since undergone a successful operation. The 21-year-old is now in rehab. She also made the step up from the youth section – the midfielder has played for Bayer 04 since 2011 and has been in the Women's first-team since 2017. Reger has made 48 appearances.
Pauline Wimmer has been sidelined for a longer period: The 19-year-old also suffered a torn cruciate at the beginning of 2020. As it was the second within three years (the first was at the start of the 2017/18 season), there first had to be a stabilisation procedure on the bone affected and that was followed by another operation on the cruciate and a long time for recovery.
Sandra Maria Jessen's contract also runs out at the end of the month. The Iceland international will not be involved in any football in the coming months as the 26-year-old is expecting her first child in the summer. Jessen played for the Werkself Women from 2015 to 2017; she returned in the winter of 2019 and has made a total of 46 appearances for Bayer 04. Nicole Banecki's contract also runs out at the end of the month.
Linda Schöttler, general manager of women's football at Bayer 04, wishes the players, "all the best for the future. We thank everybody for their commitment, in particular Gianna and Barbara for their many years at Bayer 04. Both of them matured into Bundesliga players at Leverkusen. We wish Barbara and Pauline a speedy recovery and Sandra Maria all the best for the rest of her pregnancy and the birth of her child."
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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