"Despite her great potential, Emilie did not get the minutes hoped for on the pitch this season due to the competition for places," said Achim Feifel, sporting director of the Bayer 04 Women's team: "Therefore, she approached us with a transfer request after the offer from Hammarby, which we accepted given the early stages of her career. We thank Emilie for her commitment and wish her all the best in Sweden."
Bayer 04 signed the Norway international on permanent terms after a year on loan from FC Bayern. After 21 Bundesliga appearances last season, Bragstad only made one start in the league plus nine appearances as a substitute. There were also three matches in the DFB Pokal. The transfer window in Sweden is open until the end of the month and the season starts on 22 March.
"My time at Leverkusen was very valuable, I was part of a group of really great people," said Bragstad: "But, at this point in my career, it's also important for me to play regularly. That's why the transfer is the right decision for me. I wish Bayer 04 all the best for the rest of the season."
After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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Newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg will begin the 2026/27 season as Bundesliga club number 59. The Saarland club start their first Bundesliga campaign at home to the Werkself on Saturday, 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST) at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, which is currently being rebuilt. For one Leverkusen player in the ‘Elv’ line-up, the clash will be a special reunion. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Ernest Poku is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen to play in the Turkish Süper Lig. The club has loaned the Dutch winger to Beşiktaş for one year. If certain criteria are met, the Istanbul club – who finished fourth in the Turkish top flight last season – will be obliged to make the move permanent.
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