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Gerald Asamoah: Associated with Schalke 04 as a player and official
Photo: Christof Koepsel / Getty Images
The massive cost-cutting measures at relegation-threatened second division soccer team Schalke 04 have resulted in further job cuts at the club: crowd favorite Gerald Asamoah is leaving Gelsenkirchen at the end of the season. The long-time Royal Blues professional and runner-up in the 2002 World Cup will not receive a new contract in the summer; his position as “Head of Licensed Players Department” will be eliminated without replacement. The traditional club announced this on Friday.
»With the completion of his management studies at DFL and DFB, the time has come for Gerald to take the next step. In a personal conversation, I told him that we cannot give him this perspective at the moment," said CEO Matthias Tillmann.
»Everyone knows how much Schalke 04 means to me. Here I not only played football and took my first steps in management, but over more than two decades I developed into the person I am today," said Asamoah, who played 381 competitive games for Gelsenkirchen between 1999 and 2013 and twice DFB Cup won: »I learned to love the club, the fans and the whole environment and always tried to make everyone at Schalke proud. It’s all the more painful for me that this chapter is ending for now.”
Great concern about relegation and bankruptcy
Schalke threatens to finish 14th in the table. With only two points ahead of the relegation place, they were relegated to the 3rd league, most recently Schalke lost to Hertha BSC 2:5. After its crash, the long-time Champions League participant has liabilities of 168 million euros and negative equity of 103.3 million, which must be further reduced in order to prevent a point deduction in the next second division season. If the decline continues, there is a risk of bankruptcy. Most recently, the position of sports director was eliminated.
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