After being relegated from the Bundesliga again, FC Schalke 04 offensively announced direct promotion as a goal for the season. In the medium term, those responsible dream of returning to the ranks of the top German clubs – probably an unrealistic thought.
“Schalke’s goal is illusory. The other clubs are making so much more money that Schalke can’t catch up over such a short period of time with its classic, sensible financing concept, but without an increase in equity – for example through a spin-off,” said Sport- Economist Prof. Dr. Christoph Breuer from the German Sport University Cologne opposite “Bild”.
Schalke CEO Bernd Schröder announced in May in the members’ magazine “Schalker Kreisel” that the miners wanted “to compete again for the top six in the Bundesliga in the medium term. Not because of history, but because of the strength and size of the club”.
The hard reality for the S04 is first of all the 2nd Bundesliga again – and the need to make savings due to the currently still high level of debt.
FC Schalke 04 plans “negligent”
In line with this, “Sport Bild” recently revealed mind games by the former board of directors around Peter Peters, Alexander Jobst and Jochen Schneider, in which the possible spin-off of the game operation into a corporation was also considered.
This should have brought in an amount of 200 million euros for Schalke, but was ultimately not pursued further and is now considered unrealistic – according to Breuer, a mistake.
“Many clubs have spun off without getting investors on board. Gladbach or Cologne, for example. Refraining from a spin-off is financially negligent because you don’t have the option of getting money in the event of a short-term liquidity problem. And if I look at Schalke’s finances, it can be assumed that sooner or later this will happen,” explained the finance expert.