FC Schalke is fighting for sponsorship money in court. Millions are at stake for the financially troubled club.

Second-division soccer club FC Schalke 04 has sued its former sponsor Whitefield Landbanking Fund for non-payment of almost three million euros at the Berlin Regional Court. The case concerns a sum that the club was supposed to receive from another sponsor (construction company Harfid), but which got into financial difficulties. This was reported by the “Handelsblatt”.

The court confirmed the hearing date on 27 March and the receipt of the statement of claim in July 2023. “In proceedings 26 O 234/23, the plaintiff is asserting payment claims against the defendant by way of a documentary process due to non-payment of remuneration claims from an advertising partner agreement following the assumption of a debt in the amount of EUR 2,975,000.00,” the regional court announced.

“According to the plaintiff’s submission, the defendant is said to have undertaken towards him to assume the outstanding claims from the plaintiff’s advertising partner contract with another contractual partner,” it continued. Whitefield considers the claim to be unfounded. “Since the shares of Harfid Holding could never come into the possession of Whitefield, Schalke was informed that Whitefield would not fulfill this obligation of Harfid,” a company spokesperson told the “Handelsblatt”.

The total liabilities of the financially troubled Bundesliga relegated club amount to around 165 million euros.