Does Schalke 04 unexpectedly come into money? At the general meeting of S04, a fan came up with an unusual idea.

Is FC Schalke 04 in for an unexpected windfall? Or is the offer just a joke? After more than four hours of a sometimes lengthy general meeting, Norbert Hauka made his grand entrance. As in the previous year, the S04 fan from Minden climbed the speaker’s podium in the Schalke Arena during the final debate and sang a song. It was about the fans’ love for their S04 and promotion coach Mike Büskens.

Read about the annual general meeting in the live ticker.

But when all the supporters thought his speech was over, the entrepreneur went one better. He held out the prospect of a sum of money amounting to 50,000 euros for the Königsblauen – on loan and without interest, for 5 months. Schalke’s Chief Financial Officer Christina Rühl-Hamers then gratefully accepted the envelope containing the Schalke fan’s contact details and intends to consider the proposal. “I’d say we’ll have a sit-down,” she said.

The fan’s motives are simple: “I don’t need the money now and want to give it to the club so that we can buy decent players, be on top and play in the Bundesliga again next year,” he explained.

Hauka said he was unhappy with the calibre of players Schalke wanted to go into the season with in order to aim for promotion again. “We have some players with us who are not so good,” Hauka told Forecasting. “And I have the €50,000 left and I don’t need it right now.”

He said he realised the club would not get far with his 50,000 euros. But he also wants to encourage other fans to follow his example. “We still need really good people, not mediocrities,” is his opinion. “With 170,000 members, there should still be some who can raise similar or small amounts to bring the club back to where it belongs.”

He said his target was an eight-figure sum. “The many fan clubs could also get together to support.” He does not see the risk that Schalke could then get further into debt, because the money has to be paid back. “If we don’t achieve promotion, the club can sell the players again.”

So it will be interesting to see whether things pick up in the coming weeks or whether this is more of a symbolic act. But if a sum in the millions can actually be collected in this way, it might actually become interesting for Schalke as well.