S04 striker Moussa Sylla watched a match by English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers at the stadium on Monday evening. Sporting director Frank Baumann explains.

It’s nothing new that photos of professional soccer players on social media can spark heated debates. That was also the case at FC Schalke 04 this Tuesday.

Striker Moussa Sylla, who nearly left the club this summer, posted a photo from the stadium of Wolverhampton Wanderers, who lost their Premier League match against Manchester United 1-4 on Monday evening.

What was Sylla doing in Wolverhampton? Is a transfer in the works? Was this coordinated with the club?

The background: Schalke coach Miron Muslic gave his team three days off following the Topgolf St. Nicholas celebration on Saturday in Oberhausen. The pros won’t meet again until Wednesday morning (10:45 a.m.). How the players spend their free time is up to them. When similarly long breaks are granted during international match windows, players have sometimes flown south to soak up some sun.

Wolverhampton is located 20 kilometers from the city of Birmingham in the midwest of England—it takes about an hour and a half to fly there from Düsseldorf. The “Wolves” are the clear favorites to be relegated from the Premier League; as the bottom team, they have earned only two points and are already 13 points behind the safety zone.

Schalke faces 1. FC Nürnberg on Sunday

Is Sylla a panic buy? Nothing suggests so. Sources within Schalke indicated that Sylla was out and about privately on his day off. And sporting director Frank Baumann also took it in stride. On the sidelines of the special jersey presentation, Baumann said: “It’s perfectly normal for soccer players to watch other clubs’ games from time to time. That’s why I’m extremely relaxed about it, and it was fine.”

On Sunday, Sylla will play his last game for Schalke for the time being against 1. FC Nürnberg (1:30 p.m./Sky)—afterward, he will travel with Mali to the Africa Cup of Nations. Sylla will miss the match in Braunschweig (December 21), and if Mali reaches the final, he will also miss the second-half opener in Berlin (January 17, 2026). Currently, there are no signs of a transfer for Sylla. “We assume that he will play many more games for us after the winter break,” said Baumann.