Hi kids,
A warm welcome back to the Lions Club. I've been one of you fair some two and a half years. Back then I was asked whether I wanted to be a sort of member of the Lions Club. I was the youngest player in the team at the time and a couple of people from Bayer 04 thought it would be a good match between me and the youngest Werkself fans.
They were right! They officially named me as patron and I've been to a couple of your events at Christmas parties and similar occasions. And I've seen how much fun you all have together. And not just with watching football. All the other things you do together would have given me great pleasure when I was your age. Just carry on, stick together and in you enjoy your time at Bayer. And, above all, cross your fingers for us to achieve our targets again this season.
At the end of the day that's the best thing there is. To be nervous, to hope and, finally, to celebrate with your club when they win. And you can also be sad if it doesn't work out. But not for long! Then you go again, looking forward to getting stuck into the next game.
According to the motto 'Strong Bayer – strong Lions'. I've just thought of that. Perhaps you can take it over for the future. With a motto like that then nothing can go wrong, can it?
So kids – to a good, strong as a lion rest of the season.
Yours Julian
A new look and new kit supplier for the 2025/26 campaign: Bayer 04 in tandem with sports equipment manufacturer New Balance present the official kit for the Leverkusen eSports players the coming season. New partner Sinology appears on the top right of the jersey. Menswear outfitters Lerros is still the main eSports sponsor and Niedax remains the sleeve partner. The jersey is available now from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
Show moreBosnia U19 international Kerim Alajbegovic is moving from Bayer 04 Leverkusen's youth set-up to Red Bull Salzburg. The talented attacking midfielder has signed a long-term contract with the Austrian club. At the same time, the works club secured a buy-back option for the 17-year-old, who was one of the mainstays of the Leverkusen U19s.
Show morePreparations for the 2025/26 season at Bayer 04 start next Monday, 7 July, with the first team and youth players training together. Without the international players who were involved with their national teams at the end of last season, new head coach Erik ten Hag will welcome a group of senior and youth players to the first open training session one week ahead of the departure to the training camp in Rio de Janeiro. After the official welcome in the dressing room, the Werkself players will start the session in the shadow of the BayArena on 7 July at 14:00 CEST.
Show moreThe Werkself are away to Premier League club Chelsea in the final pre-season friendly. The game against the current holders of the UEFA Conference League is on Friday, 8 August at Stamford Bridge with the kick-off at 20:00 CEST. Read on for information on ticket sales.
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