Could Clemens Tönnies help FC Schalke out with funds in the winter break to sign much-needed reinforcements? It doesn’t look like that will happen.
Things are not going well in the Bundesliga for FC Schalke 04 – after the 1:2 (0:0) defeat at Hertha BSC, the Königsblauen are last. It is clear to anyone who has watched the team recently:
During the long winter break, the squad will have to be reshuffled if the team is to stay within reach of staying in the relegation zone. But money is scarce. Should someone who still has a Schalke heart help? On Sunday, there were rumours of negotiations with long-time supervisory board chairman Clemens Tönnies.
And that came to pass: Sports director Peter Knäbel was asked about a possible support for Tönnies in an interview by Bild-TV on Sunday morning. And he did not immediately deny it. The chairman of the board, Bernd Schröder, was in an exchange with Tönnies, Knäbel said.
But will negotiations really take place? The topic was hotly debated among Schalke’s fans and members. On Monday morning, there was a reaction from the club – but not with a quote from the chairman of the board Bernd Schröder, who has not appeared publicly at all in these difficult weeks.
Some context before misunderstandings arise
Marc Siekmann
Media director Marc Siekmann clarified via his private Twitter account: “Some context before misunderstandings arise: the club is in an exchange with Clemens Tönnies – as it is with all its sponsors/representatives of sponsors. In addition, Mr Tönnies is a member of S04 and was chairman of the supervisory board for a long time. But there are no negotiations about money or the like.”
What Siekmann means by this is that Tönnies is still a financial backer of the Königsblauen through his company “Böklunder”; “Böklunder” pays a seven-figure sum as a premium partner. In addition, Tönnies has a box in the Veltins Arena.
Schalke already turned down help twice after Tönnies’ departure. In January 2021, during the winter break of the relegation year, Tönnies wanted to support Schalke so that the team could be significantly strengthened. There was no unanimous vote in the supervisory board at the time, Tönnies declined. A year later, Tönnies was prepared to pay the same amount as “Gazprom” after Schalke parted ways with its long-time sponsor. Again Schalke declined.
Schalke: Clemens Tönnies to be kept out of all club affairs
The background: The current supervisory board around chairman Axel Hefer is trying to keep Tönnies out of all club matters. Hefer has long been part of the active fan scene, which has always been critical of Tönnies. And as a regular member of the supervisory board, Hefer had more than one run-in with Tönnies.
It is hard to imagine that he will reconsider his actions. At the most, if Schalke were in dire financial straits. But: every million that Tönnies would give could not be fully invested in strengthening the professional squad. Schalke would have to put a large part of it into paying off loans.