FC Schalke 04 could do with some

money. A lawsuit arising from a sponsorship contract was decided in S04’s favor in court on Wednesday.

Is FC Schalke 04 in for a windfall? Almost three million euros are at stake.

The Royal Blues have sued Whitefield Landbanking Fund GmbH before the regional court for this amount, or 2,975,000 euros to be precise. A default judgment was issued on Wednesday. According to the Handelsblatt, the court hearing lasted less than 20 minutes. The court then ruled in favor of S04.

The other side had appeared without a court representative. Allegedly because the lawyers had previously resigned their mandate for the company from the real estate sector due to outstanding fee payments.

But where does the claim come from? Basically, they are claims against the former Essen-based construction company Harfid GmbH. Harfid had been the sleeve sponsor of the then Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 since the 2020/21 season. The contract with Schalke had been concluded for five years.

In September 2022, Harfid Hadrovic, owner of Harfid GmbH, filed for insolvency at the local court in Essen due to inability to pay. A short time later, the Berlin-based Whitefield Group took over the majority shares in Harfid. The aim was to restructure the company. S04’s claims from the sponsorship agreement were thus transferred to the new company according to the legal opinion of the Gelsenkirchen club.

In February 2023, Whitefield terminated its contractual relationship with Harfid. In the opinion of the Berlin-based company, this also rendered S04’s claims for millions invalid. According to Handelsblatt, the judge did not share this view.

Another lawsuit is still pending

There is even another lawsuit pending against Whitefield in the amount of 535,000 euros, which involves direct claims against the company and which a debt collection company initially tried to collect.

However, it is questionable whether the Schalke team will ever see the money. The Berlin entrepreneur Aydin Tasci, who has already been convicted once for delaying insolvency, is behind Whitefield.