Anyone with even basic knowledge of German football will know that Schalke 04 is one of the Bundesliga’s largest and most influential teams.
Although they may not have been able to stop Bayern Munich’s period of terror, they have come quite close. In 2017/18, they finished as others in the league and proved to be one of the toughest sides.
Just three years later, and they are preparing for life in the second tier after suffering a humiliating relegation that caused players to run for their lives away from an angry crowd of fans who were shocked at how their club could collapse so quickly.
The players of Schalke 04 are the first days after the Dutch flights for a large group supporting supporters who were disappointingly over relegation. pic.twitter.com/1CNBZALfS4
– Football Ultras (@VoetbalUltras) April 21, 2021
It’s a really ridiculous story, and if you’re looking for an explanation you have to go back to 2016.
On February 21, 2016, Schalke announced that Christian Heidel would take over as their new sports director. It was the man who was credited with development managers such as Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel, who combined to help Mainz beat their weight far from 2007 onwards.
Heidel appointed Markus Weinzierl, who had just taken Augsburg to the Europa League as his new first team manager. There were big plans for Schalke and it seemed like everything was put in place to achieve that.
Unfortunately, it did not work … at all.
Heidel’s management did not meet expectations TF-Images / Getty Images
While Weinzierl’s lead on the pitch was a bit overwhelming – his side finished tenth in their debut season before being sacked in the summer – it was Heidel’s work behind the scenes that really contributed to Schalke’s downfall.
Schalke is one of Germany’s largest talent production factories, and with that comes an influx of transfer fees when these players are sold. Leroy Sane, Julian Draxler, Thilo Kherer and Manuel Neuer all took in the best part of £ 150 million between 2011 and 2019, but with great power comes a great responsibility.
Since Heidel’s arrival at the club, Schalke have spent a similar number on players who have not filled the void.
Breel Embolo, Nabil Bentaleb and Sebastian Rudy are the club’s three biggest players, and none of them did it anywhere near the level of those they were meant to replace.
Meanwhile, Leon Goretzka went on a day off to join Bayern Munich 2018.
Club officials did not care about turnover and failed exchanges, believing that you have to spend money to make money. That’s why they took a revolving door strategy to managers, committed to spending € 100 million to upgrade the club’s training facility and were prepared to get rid of Heidel in 2019 when results began to slide as well.
Unfortunately, by the time Heidel left, the damage had already been done.
David Wagner failed to perform a miracle | Christof Koepsel / Getty Images
Schalke’s financial items in 2019 showed liabilities of approximately EUR 200 million. The club had dug a hole and accepted that they needed success on the 2019/20 pitch to raise money and help bridge the gap.
When the new boss David Wagner had them as high as third in December, Schalke is fine, but then the world collapsed.
Performances on the pitch fell off, but the last nail in the coffin was the COVID-19 outbreak that ravaged football’s economy. Even teams that rolled in cash began to bleed money, but Schalke had no parachute. The debts were already there and began to get out of control. When fans started asking for a refund of their season tickets, they were told that money would only be paid to supporters who could physically prove that they needed the money. Charming.
At the end of 2020, it looked awful and off the field. Schalke had to win at all costs, but they had no money to improve the squad. The only “upgrades” came in the form of free transfers like Shkodran Mustafi and loan deals for players like Sead Kolasinac.
The boss had to work miracles or face the sack.
Mustafi was the club’s last jump on the field Matthias Hangst / Getty Images
Wagner could not do that. Manuel Baum could not do that. Christian Gross could do it. When Dimitrios Grammozis arrived in March, it was far too late. Schalke were at the bottom of the Bundesliga and were simply waiting for their inevitable relegation to be confirmed. An unstable ownership, deteriorating player squad and complete lack of management-level structure proved to be a deadly cocktail when the pandemic struck.
With just two wins, seven draws and 21 losses to his name, Schalke’s relegation was confirmed with a 1-0 loss to Arminia Bielefeld, and just as one of the greatest sides in German history was relegated.
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