"Now we have created the position where players develop so successfully here that they are then able to take the next step to a top club. It was similar with Lisanne Gräwe and Elisa Senß who have both become Germany internationals," said Thomas Eichin, director of professional teams and thereby also responsible for the Women's section at Bayer 04: "Losing players like that is a pity but understandable. We have to continue working sustainably to soon be able to have further players of a similar quality to Janou."
Levels joined Bayer 04 in the summer of 2023 after five years at PSV Eindhoven. Since then the two-time Netherlands international has played 38 games and scored two goals.
"Janou is an important part of the team as a leader both on the pitch and in the dressing room," said Achim Feifel, Bayer 04 Women's team sporting director. "We are very grateful for her commitment and we wish her all the best for the future."
"I really felt at home and valued from the start at Bayer 04. It's a very special feeling that definitely isn't a given. So I'm very grateful looking back at the last two years where I've developed on and off the pitch," said Levels: "I'm particularly proud to be part of this so successful season. Now I'm ready for the next step in my career but Leverkusen will always have a place in my heart."
Rüdiger 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…
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With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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The ‘year after’ the most successful year in the club's history brought many changes at Bayer 04. In an exclusive double interview with bayer04.de shortly before the Christmas break, Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes spoke about building a new team capable of winning trophies, the work of coach Kasper Hjulmand, the young new signings who have quickly developed into key players, and their personal plans for the Christmas holidays. Their outlook for the coming year also shows that the potential is far from exhausted and ambitions remain high.
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Last-minute ecstasy, huge disappointment and a historic performance on the European stage - 2025 was a real emotional roller coaster, especially for the U19s. A rousing run in the knockout phase secured the team a place in the final of the German championships, where they lost by the narrowest of margins. Despite the departure of several key players, the young Werkself team quickly regained their usual strength and qualified for the knockout rounds in the UEFA Youth League for the first time at the end of the year. In 2025, youngsters Jeremiah Mensah and Montrell Culbreath made their debuts in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. The other youth teams also contributed great performances and a number of trophies to the collective Black and Red success, while the successful Bayer 04 Future Kids project broke new ground. Read on for the 2025 review of the youth teams.
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