Berliner Tageszeitung - 'Love that lasts a lifetime': Leverkusen offer fans free tattoos

Under the banner "love that lasts a lifetime", Leverkusen announced the "special promotion for the end of a special season".

Fans can book appointments to get inked at Leverkusen's BayArena, the club's home stadium, until the end of the season.

Unbeaten in 49 games since the start of the campaign, manager Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen won their first German top-flight title in April and are on course for a treble, having qualified for the German Cup and Europa League finals.

Fans can choose from one of 10 designs which include the club's logo, a fist-bump above the year 1904 when the club was founded, or April 14 2024 -- the date the club finally broke through for their debut title.

A version of the Bayer cross, the logo of the Leverkusen-based pharmaceuticals company which is the club's major benefactor, is also one of the designs.

The club announced that any fans who are unable to get an appointment at the stadium will receive a '19.04 percent' rebate on the cost of tattoos from a local studio -- a reference to the year the club was founded.

The club's statement included a picture of tattooed midfielder Robert Andrich, who in April told tabloid Bild he would get a 'Bundesliga champions' tattoo from former Union Berlin teammate Christopher Trimmel's studio should Leverkusen win the title.

Leverkusen, who had only won two major trophies in the club's 120-year history before this season, will face second-division Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final and Serie A side Atalanta in the Europa League final in a three-day period in late May.

Leverkusen's 49-game unbeaten run beat a 59-year old European record set by Portuguese club Benfica from 1963 to 1965.

D. Fjodorow--BTZ