No new player contract should exceed 2.5 million euros in annual salary. The ailing club is thus restricting its team planning – and sending a gesture of humility.
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A few days ago, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge explained that he could not imagine a general salary limit for professional footballers. Instead, he calls for “more rationality” and “rethinking” in the big leagues when it comes to finances. The Munich CEO had not suspected that this pious wish should now come true in Gelsenkirchen.
Especially since Schalke 04 is not content with “rethinking”, but actually wants to introduce a binding, clearly numbered salary limit. The club is serious about its self-limitation. According to SZ information, there should no longer be a new contract that exceeds the 2.5 million euro annual salary mark. Players who asked for more money would no longer be hired, the responsible parties have agreed.
This exclusive reform decision is likely to be of interest to the industry: Schalke has long been known in the Bundesliga for its high salary level – and for some years now also for the fact that the high payments to the professionals have no effective relation to the sporting results. The team of coach David Wagner continued the process of disappointments on Saturday with 0: 4 at SC Freiburg, as the end of a second half of the season, which was unsuccessful with 16 games in a row like no other in Schalke’s league history. Wagner should still be allowed to continue his work in Gelsenkirchen. He excluded the resignation anyway.
A salary limit for football millionaires fits as a gesture of humility at a time when quite a few community members are demanding reforms in the club. During the Freiburg game, around 1,000 fans demonstrated at the K club grounds at the K against club politics and against the superintendent Clemens Tönnies. In truth, the wage limit is primarily a reaction to the highly tense economic situation. Nevertheless, it is not just an austerity measure. Schalke also wants to set an example – the audience should see that the club is serious about the desire for more down-to-earthness and balance.
Now 2.5 million euros are still handsome, but compared to the payments that – despite Corona – are common in Germany and abroad, 2.5 million are not an impressive amount for players with high demand. Schalke are aware that they limit themselves in competition. A salary limit doesn’t just deter potential new players who other applicants promise more money for. It also jeopardizes the whereabouts of professionals you want to keep. A contract extension with midfielder Suat Serdar, 22, is hardly conceivable under the dictation of the salary cap.
Before the Corona crisis, discussions for the national player had been started for a new, better-paid contract. Now there could be a change of subject, because the sale of players who were regarded as future sport capital is no longer taboo. Serdar had had loose inquiries in the fall, and there was talk of a transfer of 40 million euros. Serdar (currently injured) or the highly traded defense attorney Ozan Kabak, 20, or Weston McKennie, 21, must now be considered sales candidates.
Schalke needs the money not only to secure the budget, but also to close precarious gaps in the squad. A replacement for goalkeeper Alexander Nübel is particularly urgently needed. Favorite is Freiburg’s Alexander Schwolow, 28, whose contract with the sports club, which runs until 2022, includes an opt-out clause. Apparently there is already a fairly well developed approach, Schwolow seems to want to take an adventure after twelve years in Freiburg. Markus Schubert, 21, and returnee Ralf Fährmann, 31, are not intended as regular goalkeeper. Schalke is also looking for a center forward with a reliable hit rate. Right-back Jonjoe Kenny would also have to be replaced if he had to return to Everton.
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