Vincent Kompany is a successful coach at FC Bayern. Some time ago, Schalke 04 also wanted to sign the Belgian.

It’s been a long time since Schalke 04 and FC Bayern could be mentioned in the same breath. But right now, circumstances allow for it: The record champions and the Ruhr-area club are both at the top of their respective tables—albeit not in the same league—and are among the hottest teams in Europe.

At Schalke, coach Miron Muslic is considered the architect of their success, having led the club to triumph in no time at all since his arrival this summer. In Munich, Vincent Kompany is the celebrated figure—and he himself could have ended up at Schalke some time ago.

That was revealed by Schalke’s former sporting director, Rouven Schröder. On Sunday evening’s Sky90 show, Schröder—who recently became sporting director at Borussia Mönchengladbach—said he would have liked to bring Kompany to Gelsenkirchen in the summer of 2022. At the time, Schalke had just secured promotion back to the Bundesliga and was looking for a successor to Mike Büskens. Kompany’s name was also on the list, and Schröder even held talks with the former world-class center back.

“When he was at Anderlecht and we at Schalke were looking for a coach for the Bundesliga, I was simply drawn to the idea of speaking with such a great player,” Schröder reported. “He was also the captain of Manchester City. It was one of the best conversations you can have with a coach—a young, up-and-coming coach. The door opens, and there he is—towering and incredibly well-prepared.” During the meeting, they noticed that Kompany exuded “an incredible sense of authority and ease.”

And Schröder was impressed by the Belgian at the time. “He laid out what was on his mind and what he wanted to do in terms of preparation and follow-up. He had an incredible number of sheets, a PowerPoint presentation that really showed: Here’s someone who plays soccer with passion, trains with passion, and leads by example. And then there’s his multilingualism. You could really sense something there.”

Schalke signed Frank Kramer instead of Vincent Kompany at the time

But it apparently became clear early on that Schalke and Kompany wouldn’t be a good fit. “Ultimately, it was because of his large staff,” said Schröder. “It became clear relatively quickly that it wasn’t financially feasible. It just didn’t fit into the budget.”

Especially since Kompany was on the radar of several clubs. He ultimately decided to join FC Burnley and moved to Bayern two years later. And Schalke opted for Frank Kramer, who remained in the job for only ten matchdays. Schröder’s time in Gelsenkirchen also ended just a few weeks after the start of the season.