André Hechelmann no longer has a future at Schalke. He is leaving the club with immediate effect. The club announced this on Wednesday.
First demoted, then farewell: Short-term sports director Andre Hechelmann is leaving the second division soccer team Schalke 04 early. The 39-year-old, who moved to the Royal Blues as a scout in the summer of 2021, agreed with the board on an immediate separation just over two months after his transfer to the position of technical director – “amicably”, as the club customary in the industry on Wednesday announced.
Hechelmann was promoted to sports director last summer, and his transfer activities after relegation from the Bundesliga were criticized from all sides, including within the club. That’s why Hechelmann was demoted at the turn of the year and former UEFA Cup winner Marc Wilmots took over as sports director.
The club’s leadership around the new CEO Matthias Tillmann sees the separation as an opportunity to “consistently continue the restructuring of the sporting area that has begun,” Schalke said. A successor is being sought.