Schalke 04 break contract with Gazprom and sit on 9 million euros per year

German football club Schalke 04 (D2) announced on Monday the termination of its contract with its main sponsor, the Russian gas giant Gazprom, following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops. “The FC Schalke 04 board of directors, with the agreement of the supervisory board, has decided to terminate the contract with Gazprom before its expiry,” the club announced on its website.

15 million annually that fly away in the event of an ascent

The club had already decided last week to erase the name and logo of Gazprom from its jerseys for the championship match on Saturday, two days after the Russian attack against Ukraine. The partnership linking the club and the Russian company, whose majority shareholder is the Russian state and which has also sponsored the Champions League since 2012, ran until 2025. It was to bring in 9 million euros per year for Schalke , the club from the city of Gelsenkirchen, a former historical stronghold of football in the Ruhr basin, which fell back to the second division last year.

In the event of a rise in the Bundesliga, the contract provided for an increase in the allocation of up to 15 million per season. “The financial capacity of the club is not affected by this decision”, assures Schalke, “the management of the club is confident of being able to present a new partner very soon”.

Dortmund, the rival club, offer their help

This weekend, the boss of Borussia Dortmund Hans-Joaquim Watzke, the neighboring club of Schalke (30 km separate the two stadiums) had hinted that he could provide financial assistance in the event of breach of contract with Gazprom. “And if it is also necessary to appeal to the solidarity of other clubs in Germany, to help Schalke to get out of this situation well, then it will have to be discussed”, had launched Mr. Watzke, currently acting co-president of the German Federation.