Although FC Schalke 04 is one of the most in-form teams in the Bundesliga before the Revierderby against BVB, royal blue and black and yellow are still worlds apart from a sporting point of view. Knappen legend Klaus Fischer attributes this fact to the very different transfer policies of the two arch-rivals.
Not so long ago, FC Schalke was a permanent guest on the international stage, and the Gelsenkirchen team even appeared in the Champions League on several occasions.
However, the club has gradually slipped further and further, the temporary low point was the fall into the 2nd Bundesliga in summer 2021. Although S04 rose again straight away, they have been stuck in the bottom of the table again since then.
Even if the trend in the new year is pointing upwards, the disappointment about the negative development prevails for Knappen legend Klaus Fischer.
“Schalke made big mistakes in transfer policy, especially the transfers under Christian Heidel,” emphasized the 73-year-old in “Sport Bild”.
Fischer also gave concrete examples: “If Schalke had called me beforehand for some purchases, I would have saved the club 100 million euros. Because I would have said very clearly with players like Sebastian Rudy or Nabil Bentaleb: ‘No, don’t get it!'”
Fischer’s bitter comparison between Schalke 04 and BVB
The money was invested more sensibly with Schalke’s arch-rival, Fischer admitted: “Dortmund has invested in young players like Bellingham, Sancho and Haaland, who have made a huge development.”
At the same time, the Royal Blues would have “spent a lot of money for Rabbi Matondo, but you have to have a better eye for that,” said the former top scorer.
Winger Matondo switched from Manchester City to S04 for a whopping nine million euros in 2019, but was never able to assert himself with the Bundesliga club. Last summer he was finally sold to Scotland at a great loss.