Champions League soccer will be played in Schalke’s Veltins Arena in the 2024/25 season. But Schalke 04 is not responsible for this.
Top Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk will once again have to play its Champions League matches on foreign soil in the 2024/25 season. Due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been going on for over two years, Shakhtar will have to relocate – to the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen.
This was announced by FC Schalke 04, who are known to play their home games in the Veltins Arena. The miners are currently playing in the second Bundesliga and have nothing to do with the glory of the Champions League. However, there is now a chance that top stars such as Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé (both Real Madrid) will be back in Gelsenkirchen just a few weeks after the European Championships.
“We are delighted to be able to play our UEFA Champions League matches in one of the best stadiums in Germany. Last season’s positive experiences show that Shakhtar has strong support from the fans in this country, both from the locals and the Ukrainian refugees. This factor is very important for our club. We are grateful to the management of Schalke 04 and the city of Gelsenkirchen for their solidarity and have no doubts about our mutually beneficial cooperation. We are looking forward to the UEFA Champions League matches,” said Serhii Palkin, General Director of FC Shakhtar.
Of course, this is also worthwhile for the club, which benefits financially. “We are very pleased about the cooperation and are proud that we can support Shakhtar Donetsk and make our stadium available as a venue for matches in the top flight. In addition, the tenancy also offers added value for our club at an economic level. Overall, this is a win-win situation for both clubs – we are very much looking forward to the matches and the cooperation,” said Schalke’s CEO Matthias Tillmann.
Schalke’s last Champions League match to date took place on Wednesday, February 20, 2019. Schalke hosted Manchester City in the round of 16, where Leroy Sané was still playing at the time. He also scored to make it 2:2 in the meantime. In the end, City won 3:2 and crushed Schalke 7:0 at the Etihad Stadium a week later. Since then, there has been no Champions League soccer for Royal Blue.
This is Shakhtar Donetsk’s second Champions League season in Germany. The Ukrainian top club played the 2023/24 Champions League season at Hamburg’s Volkspark Stadium. At that time, they faced Royal Antwerp, FC Porto and FC Barcelona. Donetsk were eliminated with nine points, but were allowed to continue in the Europa League as third in their group. In the play-offs, however, they lost to Olympique Marseille (2:2, 1:3).
Champions League 2024/25: These 29 teams have already qualified for sure
Germany (5 participants): Bayer Leverkusen, FC Bayern, VfB Stuttgart, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund
Italy (5): Inter Milan, AC Milan, FC Bologna, Juventus Turin, Atalanta Bergamo
England (4): Manchester City, FC Arsenal, FC Liverpool, Aston Villa
Spain (4): Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, FC Girona, Atletico Madrid
France (3): Paris Saint-Germain, AS Monaco, Stade Brest
Netherlands (2): PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord Rotterdam
Portugal (2): Sporting Lisbon, Benfica Lisbon
Belgium (1): Club Brugge
Scotland (1): Celtic Glasgow
Austria (1): Sturm Graz
Ukraine (1): Shakhtar Donetsk