Schalke boss Tillmann wants to move up and invest as quickly as possible

Want to move up as quickly as possible

The new CEO of FC Schalke 04, Matthias Tillmann, described the sporting situation as “serious” and asked members and fans for understanding for “tough decisions”. “We want to establish Schalke 04 back in the Bundesliga as quickly as possible. To do this we have to invest in sport. In order to make this possible, we will adapt the structures in the club, be leaner overall and act more focused,” announced the 40-year-old in an interview with the second division club, which has to worry about staying in the league with only three points behind it from a direct relegation zone.

It is important to “increase revenues, save material and personnel costs and generate more financial flexibility again. We will make tough decisions for Schalke to be successful in the long term.” Tillmann also addressed the criticism from concerned fans about the new club management’s considerations about possibly relying on the help of external business partners for sponsorship sales and catering. This led to accusations that they wanted to sell the “club’s silverware” to maintain liquidity.

“We are currently evaluating very intensively whether we can structurally strengthen our sales force with an external service provider. Contrary to the headlines, this has nothing to do with a sale of marketing rights. We don’t sell anything, we buy a service. We are looking for a partner who is willing to explore new paths with us,” he commented around six weeks after taking office.

Such external service providers would have the advantage of being able to “immediately access a broad network and experienced sales teams”. “That’s how the majority of football clubs work. This gives us the opportunity to keep complexity internally low and we don’t have to invest in the short term. This saves time and at the same time gives us new options,” said Tillmann. The disadvantage is that “you are tied to a partner for a certain period of time” and “of course you pay a commission for the service”. It is therefore important to “make sure that the interests are the same. A partner would earn money if Schalke is doing well in terms of sales and then economically – and that happens if we increase sales together compared to today,” said Tillmann.

Clemens Tönnies expressed concerns. “If the rumors are true that the catering and marketing rights have been or are about to be sold, that would be another fatal mistake. “It’s not that easy to reverse and you’re giving the reins away completely,” criticized the club’s former supervisory board boss in the newspapers of the “Funke Mediengruppe”. According to the 67-year-old, “Things have never been so bad for Schalke. Something has to change fundamentally.”

To home page