The Historic Downfall of FC Schalke 04

[@janmeyer272]

As a lifelong Schalke fan it obviously breaks my heart what is happening to the club right now, but there is so much more to the story. Still, seeing you count together the exact amount of money we lost du to bad contract management even surprised me. I never made the effort to calculate and it's more than I thought. I have to add that having this huge fanbase is a double-edged sword. The pressure is high, and the fans are impatient. There is a lot of player and staff bashing after even short periods of missing success. A lot of players left the club because the hate from the Schalke fans was unbearable and unfortunately the average Schalke fan isn't smart enough to see what their behaviour would do to the club in the long run. The peak was fans of the club meeting players after a match at the end of the relegation season and actually chasing them around the arena, having the players actually fear for their physical integrity. After all that it feels like there happened just too much to get back a healthy relationship between fans and players which on the one hand keeps players with great potential from signing for Schalke and on the other hand dragging the existing players down. I'm quite alone with that opinion, because the fans will do anything but look at their own mistakes, but it's evidently the case. Nonetheless, I will stick with this club untill I die. No matter which division, no matter the names of the players. Einmal Schalker, immer Schalker (Once Schalke fan, always Schalke fan) The only thing that will always hurt me is looking back at the team and opportunities we once had and wasted so recklessly.

[@Vizeh]

This is a fantastic comment man, thank you for sharing your view and I can see how the big club mentality can be a blessing and a curse. I’d like to think you’d stay up this year and hopefully survive the scare of your life, wish you well mate💙

[@Felixhrh]

Ja Frag mal den Ralle

[@YüahPunkt]

Fast geheult

[@areothen1356]

Da rennt der Uth

[@naitkaet]

@@areothen1356wie gings dem auto von mascarell?

[@chrisfraser5088]

As a life long Dortmund fan, my friends and I were certainly laughing the first time they went down. We’re not laughing now. The idea of the Bundesliga without Schalke long term is horrifying. I miss the derby so much!

[@Vizeh]

That’s one thing I agree with, having the derby is so key for all fans

[@chrisfraser5088]

@@Vizeh 💯

[@JDTStagg-]

I think a lot of fans fail to realise this. Although it can be awesome seeing your rivals struggling, a season without those derby days feels almost incomplete. It’s like a cup competition where the last game of the tournament is the semi final. An enjoyable enough time, but that big day that everyone looks forward too is missing

[@RedGunBullets]

Liga 3 Derby gegen BVB II 😂

[@Hiddendead]

@@RedGunBullets Hättest du Ahnung vom Thema oder hättest aufmerksam zugeschaut wüsstest du, dass das nicht möglich ist

[@sarabalhas638]

As a MUFC fan, I remember us playing them in the Semi-Final of the UCL. And just 10 years later the were relegated. Crazy how football works.

[@Vizeh]

I forgot how they went that far aswell it wasn’t long ago at all

[@Black-Mal]

They smoked the previous CL winners Inter 5:2

[@SamWinchester000]

You should remember (and rewatch) their CL knock-out round 5:6 Encounter against Real Madrid. Losing 0:2 at home and then winning 5:4 at the Bernabeu. That was even less far away (2015, I think). One goal more, and they would have defeated Madrid.

[@horstschlemmer6686]

@@SamWinchester000 4:3

[@nont18411]

10 years ago, Man United was once the strongest team in England who won trophies on a yearly basis like brushing a teeth. Now they are a mid table team who is struggling to win each match. If that could happen to United, then it could happen to Schalke as well.

[@ErinStephanie-mf2qk]

Fun fact. 50% of current (2023-24) clubs in Bundesliga 2, have either: a) won a European Cup (Hamburg), b) won a Bundesliga title (add Kaiserslautern, Nuremberg, Braunschweig); c) won a German national title in any era (add Hertha, Schalke, Hannover); d) won a European Cup Winners Cup (add Magdeburg); e) appeared in a major UEFA competition final (add Düsseldorf).

[@chocolatechris7304]

Crazy how so many german giants are falling

[@NoLuckJKMY807]

Also it should be noted that the 2nd Bundesliga is the hardest second tier league in Europe due to the extremely competitive nature, even moreso than the EFL Championship.

[@TimTorinoWPGJets]

Fortuna Düsseldorf also won the German national title in 1933

[@Vizeh]

I love German football man

[@davinnicode]

@@NoLuckJKMY807that’s not true. It is competitive yes but the EFL is a more difficult competition to be successful in due to the mode it is played.

[@schalkewwefan04]

Gosh tears actually shot into my eyes when you were talking about what big of a club we once were/ still are in a way. Schalke is not just a Football Club. It means everything to the people who who live in the area around Gelsenkirchen. The club gave me so much joy, memories and also pain ( a lot pain tbf) but I love this club so much. This love goes beyond the football aspect even though I am also a passionate football fan in general. But Being a “Schalker” (Schalke Fan) is different it is more than just supporting the footballing efforts. In the area around Gelsenkirchen Saying that you are a “Schalker” is equal to saying “I am catholic, I believe in Jesus Christ.” It is a sort of a feeling, just indescribable. When I attend birthday parties or anything like that and sb. turns out to be a “Schalker” then it is almost like I am meeting/ talking to a family member since we are sharing the same passion and especially share the same pain which gets you even closer with people that u did not know a couple of mins ago. I cannot even imagine what would happen over here if Schalke gets relegated again. It probably will cause anarchy again. I really hope that it will never get to this point and that we somehow stay in the league

[@kavehf9183]

Been in love with this club since I saw them break down Inter in 2011. I was 11 years old back then, of course I'm not German but really breaks my heart when I see them like this. I hope Schalke can rise again from its ashes

[@Vizeh]

No matter what the fans will always be there

[@kavehf9183]

@@Vizeh Fans are the most important asset of this club

[@wikipediaH]

Same as you, I am not German and same as you, I fell in love with Schalke after a game against Inter.... only that one took place in the 1997 UEFA Cup final. 😅

[@balldbob1622]

Just lucky I've witnessed city at schalke. Fantastic stadium

[@Vizeh]

It’s iconic, incredible roof to it

[@Shmayd]

schalke have been my 2nd team for probably close to 15 years and following them through everything happening and knowing that they may not even exist as they are now definitely hurts

[@Vizeh]

It’s crazy man, wish you well

[@MrJaronimus]

As a belgian Schalke fan, I went 2 weeks ago for the first time to a match against HSV. Just unbelievable atmosphere from both the home and away fans, which made me fall even more in love with German football. Both supporter groups go into the stadium from the same entrance, protest together against the DFB. This is just unthinkable in Belgium and probably other leagues I just can't imagine my club could be going into liquidation... 😢

[@Vizeh]

German football is so good man

[@ButtersS04]

We coming back💪🏽💙

[@jasonnchuleft894]

Well they were under threat of being liquidated when they went down to the 2nd too, but usually at least for the bigger clubs there's always a chance for some investors to provide a safety net. The problem tho is that those nets don't come cheap longterm either. All that really does is move the loan repayments a couple of years into the future so the books look clean when it matters 🤨

[@mortezz1268]

Same entrance is also unusual in Germany

[@juri492]

You misunderstood something, they would Never Go in on the Same entrance

[@dublinbrummie]

For a team with 60,000 every home game this is mental that are so much in debt

[@Vizeh]

It’s insane honestly

[@LinkeScharmlipe]

I think you also should take a look at the people behind Schalkes money (Gazprom, Clemens Tönnies) when you're talking about the reasons Schalke could fall off so hard.

[@Vizeh]

I mentioned it at the end when it comes to revenue that’s why I said to comment below if I missed things out

[@jeffreyjeffrey1935]

​@@Vizeh i am german and i just startet the Video, if you have just "mentioned" Tönnies, then you said nothing 😂

[@LinkeScharmlipe]

@@Vizeh Yeah I know, but there's way more to Tönnies than some bad comments (exploiting immigrants for cheap labor, unsafe work conditions, working with Putin etc..). Gazprom should be self-explanatory. But you still did great work and I really enjoyed your video, hope your gonna put out more videos about german football teams.

[@rezbamandi3926]

@@LinkeScharmlipe sag nichts über Tönnies!!bester Mann !!

[@RedGunBullets]

Laber kein scheiß mit tönnies waren noch die guten Zeiten auf Schalke so einen Manager der dem Verein klar Struktur gab wünsche man sich heute und was ist mit Gazprom?? Die haben immer brav als Hauptsponsor fett Geld gegeben wünschte man sich heute auch gerne so einen Sponsor zu bekommen

[@schaffner-816]

One minor correction: Goretzka was not from the Schalke Academy. He came from Bochum to Schalke.

[@Vizeh]

Thought he was developed mainly at Schalke, apologies

[@jasiahwhey]

​@@VizehMatip was also a Bochum Player from Bochum Academy

[@GermanyPark]

@@jasiahwhey but matip at least played in schalkes acadamy, too, unlike goretzka

[@damcie]

@@jasiahwhey Matip played 10 years in the Knappenschmiede! 2 years as a 7 year child for Bochum. Dont kidding.

[@SafeHavenML]

As a Schalke fan, the idea of them liquidating is horrifying, especially given how big of a club they are its almost unthinkable. I was hopeful Schalke would be fighting for promotion at the start of the season, never would have thought it get this bad though. I'm hoping we pick up steam like we were starting to do at the end of last year, and if Hansa and Braunschweig continue to struggle it will make it easier for us to stay up, of course I have nothing against these clubs but I'd like Schalke to stay up

[@Vizeh]

It is truly unbelievable, many people in English football probably don’t notice how good German football actually is to be fair

[@Xaaji-el9hl]

I hope you guys get back to the bundesliga . I remember when you guys played man utd in 2011.

[@lisaruhm6681]

The 2nd and 3rd league have become a shark pools.

[@nerendir2038]

If you add a mezzaladesign for Schalke you should do Naldo's header to make it 4:4 in the Revierderby, after being behind 0:4. Or the iconic goal from Julian Draxler and Raul.

[@chim6090]

As a Schalke fan I was just about to comment this, would defo buy one with the Naldo 4-4

[@Vizeh]

Will get this added!

[@nerendir2038]

@@Vizeh whats shipping to Germany like? Do you have to pay customs. Would love to get one, when they are added

[@schalkewwefan04]

draxler and raul goal overrated AF. it was a farewell match for Raul of course they let the two pass. An iconic goal of Raul for schalke was his goal against Köln. That even received the goal of the season award in 2011

[@RespecTheLevYT]

Long story short: Klaas-Jan left -> club went into turmoil real quickly

[@deopsey]

Huntelaar da goat 🐐

[@RespecTheLevYT]

@@deopsey one of the 21st century’s most underrated

[@Vizeh]

Fair

[@WritingGeekNL]

Immediately started his journey at Ajax as technical manager. Kicked off what might be their second worst transfer summer in history. Only topped by last summer. I love this as a Feyenoord fan.

[@G4ey]

true, this is. similar case, ajax had.

[@antonwichers9951]

As a dortmund fan since ive been 4 years old, it is not a good feeling for us seeing schalke being so bad

[@Vizeh]

I feel same about Blackburn, want them to be bad but not liquidation bad

[@tannerwilson4843]

@@VizehBolton Wanderers were the same way. But they’re starting to really turn it around. Currently in League 1, but they in a fierce battle for promotion and could possibly in the race for the League 1 Championship.

[@r3zaful]

Lets be honest to yourself, all bundesliga clubs except bayern are prone to this type of collapse including dormund.

[@LiftandCoa]

​@@r3zafulNo, not really. The Bundesliga is financially sound, the money is there.

[@antonwichers9951]

@@r3zaful lets see, probably yeah, but in the last games its been going good for dortmund again, i think this is one of the best build teams weve had since porbably auba left

[@YüahPunkt]

I can see the Schalke Arena when I look out of my window. I've been a fan since I was born. It's unbelievable what has happened to the club since promotion to the Bundesliga in 2022. I really thought the worst days were behind us. There's a lot to say about everything that's gone wrong at this club, but you've summed up the most important things. Years of living beyond our means, poor management and risky bets on the future. Good video as always.

[@CovCitySkyBlue]

Hope you guys come back stronger. I am a Coventry city fan so know how it feels to see your club crumble. I’ll be supporting you!

[@Dinoo1234]

When they got promoted to Bundesliga in 2022, I would have expected them to stay up comfortably but I was proved wrong

[@Vizeh]

Apparently the players they had they didn’t retain so was just left with squad players in Bundes

[@Shad0w5carab]

@@Vizehyeah a lot of our best players left when we were relegated and replaced by loans, most of which didn’t stay after we were promoted, or old players who were good enough to get us promotion but not up to Bundesliga standard. Our squad at the start of last season was arguably worse than the one that got us promoted.

[@schalkewwefan04]

i mean sometimes its just a thing of having bad luck. I mean look at the table this season. If Schalke would have been in the mix in this season they would have definitely stayed in the league. Last year Schalke was almost relegated by winter since the other teams had much more points. Looking at the table now at almost the same time of the season Schalke would be as good as the teams that are on the relegation spots or even better

[@ButtersS04]

It’s hard to be a Schalke fan…. But we love our club and we stand behind the club! It doesn’t matter which league💙 but I hope that we are getting better🙏🏽 thank you for the video

[@jonathanm9993]

a lot of it has to with the legal structure of the club as well as the financial beneficiaries of the club. Clemens Toennies, a Billionaire meat manufacturer become de facto head of the club. But instead of putting his money into the club he loaned it with significant interest. But yeah the losses of Matip, Goretzka, Sané... the list is incredibly long if you look at it tbh, I mean we made Özil, Neuer, Hoewedes. Some if the best players in the 2010s came out of our academy. Just breaks me, whenever I see it

[@Vizeh]

100% it is very complex so I knew there would be some elements missing however hope I covered some broad strokes of how they got in this situation

[@tazuna02]

a lot of it has to do with Tönnies kicking out Heldt and installing Heidel who then goes on to BURN over 140million euros on top of destroying the already blown up Salaries.

[@LeonardoPishia]

Man this sucks seeing a football titan getting relegated like Humberg 😢

[@worveman1467]

HUMBERRGGGFF

[@oofyboi5357]

„Humberg“💀

[@Vizeh]

Humberg

[@olivplays-ru5ks]

Hummmmmmmmmburg

[@reo_1907]

spelling is hard

[@benjamingrebner220]

Could you maybe at some point also do a video on how Eintracht Frankfurt went from relegation play-offs to cup and europa league winners in a few years, would be really interesting to hear your opinion on it😅

[@LiftandCoa]

As a german, following another club from that region (MSV Duisburg; and still rivals although we havent met in a long time on the pitch) it hurts so much to see Schalke like that. Dont get me wrong, i want them to be bad - but not that bad. I want them to struggle, fight and work and overcoming the odds, not going into liquidation, just like the culture of OUR region dictates us. Its also quite interesting to see the similarities in struggles and problems between our clubs, even when the scale we had was/is/ever will be considerably smaller. This is the club that signed RAUL directly from Real Madrid. How the giants have fallen. Ruhrpott Football is in danger. "Ruhrpott" is a region in NRW, Germany where clubs like Schalke (this video), Bochum (funnily enough just a stable club) Duisburg (getting almost certainly relegated from the 3. Liga into Amateur football and Essen (Midtable 3. Liga, recently (2 or 3 years) promoted from the Regional West) play. Its so sad to see us like that. Cant believe Bochum is our biggest hope lol Glück Auf meine Freunde, ich will euch nächstes Jahr nicht in Liga 3 sehen.

[@thiagoprofili4806]

100% richtig. Ich bin sechziger und was ist passiert mit unsere vereine ist so traurig. Letztes heimspiel gegen sandhausen, die sandhausener hätter ein banner der liest "freiheit für sechzig" wegen unsere sehr scheiße situation. Hoffentlich die msv und 1860 bessere zeiten haben, aber sieht gar nicht gut aus

[@RolandPeteur]

I remember Duisburg from 98-99 games against RC Genk. Genk won at Heysel 5-0. First European season from Genk. I remember the weird away kit from MSV. Game is on full on KZbin.

[@LiftandCoa]

​@@RolandPeteur Do you know how unbelievable happy it does make me that someone outside of Germany still remembers this beautiful little club? It genuinely warms my heart, so thanks for that. And yeah, every other season we have some weird kits, its almost a tradition lol But we have baller kits too, im totally in love with our Home kit from the 20/21 season (if interested search "MSV Duisburg 20/21 home kit") where we doubled down on the "Zebra" nickname, it was even created by fans. And european football, a sight never to be seen again.... :(

[@LiftandCoa]

​@@thiagoprofili4806Leider ist das Traditionssterben gerade aktuell überall im Deutschen Fußball. Ich wünsche euch 60ern ebenso alles erdenkliche gute, endlich mal eine kompetente Führung, den Rausschmiss von diesem Investor. Für mich war und bleibt München immer Blau. Tradition darf nicht so untergehen. Aber das sind wohl alt eingefahrene Strukturen und der glaube größer zu sein als die Abstiegsplätze. Aber selbst wenn es nicht gut für uns beide ausgeht, diese Liebe wird niemals untergehen - wir werden zurückkehren und für furore sorgen, das glaube ich fest (Hopium + Copium überdosis lol).

[@LiftandCoa]

​​@@thiagoprofili4806Ganz viel Liebe auch ins Blaue München (war es immer, wird es immer bleiben!) Wir packen das, und wenn nicht dann kommen wir zurück (hope+cope lol) und sorgen wieder für Furore. Beide von uns. Warum auch immer wurden beide meine antworten gelöscht.

[@uraveragemariogamesenjoyer]

Thanks for your vid man! I was trying to figure out what was going with Schalke 04, and how they went from being Bundesliga runner-ups in 2018 to fighting for their survival in the 2. Bundesliga as well as being on the verge of not existing anymore in such a short span. It’s always sad to see a football monument like Schalke 04 just collapsing like that. I can’t believe though that they have not made a single profit out of their youngsters! Something that can only be explain by poor management unfortunately. I’m not a football fan of any clubs in general, but I really hope for you Schalke 04 fans out there that your club will get out of this mess. Because for me, Schalke 04 is a club that belongs in the 1st half of the Bundesliga, fighting for a qualification for a European cup and even the title, and not in 2. Bundesliga, fighting for their survival while being on the verge of not existing anymore.

[@Tohardtomakeachannel]

Visited that part of Germany last season and went to a Schalke game. The atmosphere was unreal even as they got destroyed 6 to 1 by Union Berlin you couldnt help but become a fan. Sad to see whats happening to them I really hope they can get it together

[@ilovesalat]

Ive been waiting for this sadly😢

[@Vizeh]

It’s been something I’ve been needing to do 100%, hope you survive this season

[@ilovesalat]

@@Vizeh im not even a schalker but it saddens me that all these great clubs with a huge tradition Are dying out in Germany. Clubs like Schalke, Kaiserslautern, Hamburg Are getting replaced by Wolfsburg, Leipzig and hoffenheim for example. German football ist sadly going into a bad direction

[@norwegischerschalker]

I am a Schalke Fan, shit hurts, but we still got one of the best fan-bases itw. Im happy to have chosen this club. WE WILL BE BACK!💙

[@kerstinhandke3694]

Glück auf from Toronto 💙🤍💙🤍🇨🇦

[@Vizeh]

Love that man🔵

[@1gunni834]

1:15 As someone in this picture, i can tell you: being a schalke fan is quite scary rn. The fact that the club will quite literally die if we get relegated is such a dark presence in the back of every s04 fans mind...

[@gothia1715]

Im a Stuttgart fan. We ve also been through tough years. Not as bad as Schalke of course but i can relate. Here in Germany we love to joke about Schalke not being champions for that long and got some memes going about their fans. However, seeing them at the bottom of the 2nd league just hurts. They belong the the Bundesliga and should be a part of it like only few others. Schalke fans love for the club is absolutely true and solid. Glück auf! Ihr kommt wieder zurück!

[@IDEAD-BREADI]

Vielen Dank Bro✌🏻

[@FishyFeng]

As a Chinese S04 fan since early 2000, it has been really tough to see my team going to be disappear. However, if a football club was mismanaged for almost a decade, that's the price you pay. I think it is healthy for the league to disqualify teams who cannot manage themselves properly. I mean at the same time, all the former Chinese FA officers are now in jail for corruption, therefore our national team will be worse and worse for the next couple of decades. It is fair for the sport.

[@mcnolan]

As a Schalke fan, it's depressing to see

[@Vizeh]

Wish you well man💙

[@hazzajamesb]

As a british Schalke fan who has been to 2 of their games. I would be heartbroken if they end up no longer existing. The team is a centre of the community and it will be horrible if they no longer exist

[@taugers5226]

Goretzka is not from the schalke acedemy. he is from VfL Bochum - like Gundogan, Klostermann, Pavlidis and Bella-Kotchap. The Ruhr area is crazy with talents. Schalke, Bochum and Dortmund are really good at develop great players

[@schalkewwefan04]

5 years ago Rudi Assauer passed away. He was the constructor of Schalke, as u have known them. he is they guy who made the Veltins Arena possible and he made Schalke a household name at the beginning of the 00s. He did not have any influence anymore in the club since 2006. but with his death schalkes downfall really began. Crazy.

[@ingo1953]

Today we lost again. Away Match against Holstein Kiel. I m Born 1962 an my first Match was 1971 against Bayern Munich and we won 1-0. Now my heart get broken about our now Situation. Its make me tears in my eyes and i want cry. But my love will never end until i die. 💙🤍⚒😍

[@vincentkompany_4]

Always liked schalke draxler was one of my favourite players growing up its sad to see them going the way they are hopefully draxler goes back and keeps them up

[@Vizeh]

His FIFA 14 card man❤

[@vincentkompany_4]

Exactly. He could've been such a brilliant player one of germanys best ever but that move to psg ruined him imo

[@Lovecars1218]

I live in Dortmund since 2000, i am a Borussia Dortmund supporter since then too and owning a season ticket for the Südtribüne for several years now. Obviously I don’t like Schalke but I am also grownup enough to realize, that both clubs, Schalke and Dortmund, are very similar to each other. And if Schalke really disappears into amateur football and bankruptcy, this will be a catastrophe not only for German football but for the city of Gelsenkirchen and the Ruhrgebiet region as well. Schalke is one of the biggest employers in Gelsenkirchen, so it would hit the economy there as well. I just hope they get their sh*t together. I’m sick of calling the matches against Bochum a „derby“. I want THE Derby back.

[@xxklesx1]

And Gelsenkrichen is one of the poorest citys in german. They cant help the club.

[@NoLuckJKMY807]

It's sad to see that former Bundesliga clubs like Schalke, Werder Bremen, Stuttgart, Hamburger SV and Hannover are either currently or formerly in the second tier in recent years. On the other hand we saw smaller Bundesliga clubs like Augsburg and Mainz had survived in the Bundesliga for so long and proven to be a punch above their weight. And then we have Bochum, who is known for surviving the drop many, many times despite they had suffered many beatdowns by other clubs and always known for being a small Bundesliga club.

[@GTtwothousand]

hoffenheim is literally a village club!!

[@jeffreyjeffrey1935]

7:10 he is from the Bochum Academy :) made many 2nd division games for VfL Bochum :) Goretzka is not a Schalke academy player

[@Spytime07]

Im a Schalke Fan and its sad to see how this club ruined it self. I remember Schalke against Real Madrid (in the semifinals I believe) and now relegation.so sad…

[@Vizeh]

Will be watching Schalke from now on

[@lwandomadikizela2213]

It crazy Schalke were Champions League semi finalist in 2011 with Neuer being their captain and they signed Raul that season. I think the moment Neuer left on a free to Bayern Munich planted the seed of Schalke's downfall. Despite the runner's up finish in 2018 the wheels truly went off when Meyer and Gotetzka left on a free while they made dross signings like Rudy and Uth. 2020 I can never forget the opening day loss to Bayern Munich and they got destroyed that set the tone to their inevitable relegation. Years of mismanagement and utter neglect has brought them to buge debt and could be on the verge of dissolving should they get relegated to the 3rd tier of German football which will be their 3rd relegation in four years. German fans are not like any other fans in the world. They support their clubs through thick and thin and stadiums are packed every game. This is a result of mismanagement and neglect does to a proud sporting institution that has tradition and history to become obsolete.

[@Timon_Serodde9]

Today they play against Braunschweig Lets hope they will win 😢

[@chazhartwayne6493]

7:36 That free transfer of Goretzka also really hurt his former club VfL Bochum who had like a 20% sell on clause so they would have been pretty much debt free back then, the payout would have been massive for a then 2nd Bundesliga club

[@BrasilianFury]

I was legitimately planning on asking you on Twitter earlier if you were making a video about this and welp, common Vizeh W and banger all in one!

[@Vizeh]

It would be wrong of me not to do a video on it

[@tbk2809]

Seeing the support against Hamburg the other day was nothing short of incredible. Best fans on the planet hands down. Hope they return to some form of glory

[@JuliusBriggs]

You've highlighted one aspect of what happened to Schalke in losing a couple hundred million on bad contract management but ultimately this was one thing in a myriad of bad decisions and circumstances coming together at once. Schalke is one of the only clubs left in german pro football who are still a non-profit organisation with no separate entity of a profit oriented first team limited liability company in regards to the 50+1 rule. They were terribly in debt from private loans from people like Clemens Tönnies, a main investor at the time. Their way of financing things was disastrous; sometimes they would take up a new loan to pay off an existing one. Then the pandemic rolled around the corner. When several hundred million in TV-income was not distributed due to the league being suspended, Schalke was one of the first clubs at immediate risk of going bankrupt within months if nothing was done. The figures for the business year of 2020 were a disaster: liabilities upwards of 200 mil, wages of 110 mil, revenue cuts of 100 mil, the list goes on. They would stop paying player wages, discontinue building a new 100 mil facility, sell marketing rights like their e-sports starting place in a league of legends league. A lot of the players who left for free during that time did so because they had no other choice but to get rid of them to get wages down. The Bundesliga did them some huge favours in the coming years with special quotas in order to reach sustainability targets to renew their licenses for competing in the Bundesliga 1 and 2 despite having an equity capital of exactly zero euros for both 2020 and 2021. Of course the club as a brand has a lot of value to the Bundesliga so it was within interest to protect the club from losing licenses and going potentially bankrupt. This was all a perfect storm really. Bad management in all regards, unsustainable financing, terrible player management, a global pandemic highlighting the downsides some clubs face under 50+1... The management has been thoroughly replaced in recent years and they have the big task of repairing this broken mess now. If they relegate again it's going to get worse of course. This was a segment for my sports management bachelors thesis btw so that's why I know this in the degree of detail that I do.

[@ITGOES80808]

I’m a Bayern fan from the U.S., I started watching football back in 2014 when I was about 15 years old. Schalke was one of those teams I dreaded playing against because I knew it’d be a tough match, after all, we took Neuer from them just a few years prior. As the years went on it went from a tough battle to a “gimme game.” It’s a shame watching them collapse like this.

[@JulianFikry]

My cousin was a schalke fan just to spite me since I am a Dortmund fan, never forgot his face when they got relegated

[@Vizeh]

Which time?😂

[@bilalabi1690]

As a lifelong BvB Fan, first I was enjoying the downfall, but now I'm hoping they manage to turn things around and get back to Bundesliga quickly. A Bundesliga Season without a Schalke-Dortmund Derby is always a sad one.

[@JoeGaze95]

Hey viz a great team to do a video on would be Malaga as they’ve had a huge downfall over the last few years but still have one of the most passionate fanbases in Spain

[@alexanderruckheim3870]

The problem is not only the transfer fees foregone due to bad management, financially speaking. The problem starts with the building of the Veltins-Arena, which was a 300 Million Euro bite. In order to pay it off, the plan relied on 20 years of consistently reaching the CL and the most of slack that plan allowed for, was 1-2 off-years where you reach the Euroleague at worst. Just imagine what that means. Schalke had to make basically 15-20 million each year in pure profit just to pay back the debt associated with the stadium. Good luck finding an investor or multiple that want to be engaged in debt financing for 20 years before seeing a penny in returns. And football clubs often have operative losses. The transfers they did manage properly (Neuer, Sané and Kehrer) at roughly a 110 million combined barely went into replacing those losses or fostering new talent, but went mostly into serving the clubs debt. Currently Schalke has about 100 million in negative equity, which means if Schalke is liquidated, the club has assets worth 60 million and a 100 million aren’t even covered by assets. The situation is dire, because for roughly 5 years now, the club couldn’t spend the money to rebuild the squad properly. Let that sink in.

[@aflhq9582]

Love seeing other leaves mentioned other than just England and the big 6 like pretty much every other KZbinr focuses on

[@hutao1763]

Im a Schalke fan since 2011 and I've to say it's pretty depressing to see them in the second league of German football. We once head really popular names in our club like Raul, Draxler, Goretzka, Neuer and and and... It's a tragedy. Anyway, pretty good video!

[@kylerodd2342]

I’m a Milan fan and I watched Milan lose a lot of players on free transfers. It was hard to watch but they did it right. They kept Kessi and Hakan around to make sure we qualified for the UCL to get the prize money. Unfortunately we couldn’t sell either without taking a loss because we bought both players for a lot . So in the end we made out really well on those two. Donnarumma only turned out good because we got Maignan at a ridiculous price. Romagnoli turned out good by dumb luck because Kalulu and now Thiaw and even Kjaer performed WAY better than expected. Then the fans lost their minds when we sold Tonali. But it was the right move. We sold him for more than we bought him for. It was a big money sale. We bought suitable replacements for very fair deals. And now I’d rate RLC and Reijnders as players just as good if not better in some areas compared to Tonali. We did well in order to look out for the club in the future, which is what Shalke just totally missed. Next season it looks like Leao might go to PSG. Even Maignan. Fans will lose their minds if they go but I think it might be the right move. Goalkeepers are generally pretty cheap and we could find someone to replace Maignan. Leao is hard to replace but it might be better to have depth in that position rather than star quality. Either way, the fans will be upset but it will provide the club with excellent resources to sustain top level performances in the future. And even provide means to give solid contract deals to other players who become stars. It’s sad Shalke missed on these opportunities. They already had a great fan base. Through thick and thin. All they had to do was be responsible financially to keep the good times going. Sad thing.

[@richs8754]

I like to travel to Germany for a bit of a footie fix (once every 2-3 years or when finances allow). My trips are usually based around Kaiserslautern fixtures, (that's another 'fallen giant' club you could easily do a feature on, if you haven't already) but my 2021 trip did include a Schalke home game. What does surprise me is that all these Academy players were allowed to leave for absolutely nothing when their contracts ran out. Here in the English Leagues, as long as the player is still 23 or younger, the selling club is still entitled to a compensatory fee for the departing player, to offset their time at the Academy.

[@kappakappa5315]

Man this so depressing to watch your video. The mistakes the management made is just sad to watch because even most fans would do better in certian positons. But my hope lies on the current manager to correct our mistakes and make us great again. Hopefully everything just clicks in the second part of the season. Come on Schalke Fans get this mans video to 5k likes xD

[@cryfier]

I think one of the biggest reason you missed: Clemens Tönnies. Letting him go let to all of this management disaster. Would be interesting/ important to add that aspect to the story.

[@ProsperKebs]

Wow its sad to see such a huge club like schalke struggling i really miss a Bundesliga season with all the big boys hope you turn things around schalke though not a fan but i support them to survive this season good luck schalke

[@champagnepapit186]

It’s 5k likes, welcome to Gelsenkirchen Brother

[@rigormortis04]

thank you for that video,everything you sayed is rigth ,the managmend destroyed my club and now we stand at the edge of a deep dark abyss.

[@tnosiraliyev]

I thought I was the only one who thinks about it, in 2022 i was curious to see where they finished and i couldn't find them from the bundeliga table(wtf) they were relegarted, as a city fan who can remember 2019 season i was surprised

[@everoposuo]

From a Dortmund supporter to Schalke: I'm aware your very existence is at stake but just know we were in a pretty similar situation some 2 decades ago; we were in debt, facing bankruptcy. But we made it out and there's no reason to believe you won't too

[@jamierennie817]

Absolutely great insight on each & every video you do , that's why i'll always watch your content as soon as notified . Seriously thank you for first class football content. Blessings to you Vizeh , wishing you & your family the absolute best.🙏❤.

[@ajayadhisankar4139]

we need them in the bundesliga, simple as that. i can't imagine german football without them and i say that as a dortmund fan.

[@FragmentJack]

Their game today was horrendous. They were up 3-0 and right before the half ended - Corredor commits to a very bad play resulting in a penalty goal for Darmstadt. They gave up two more goals and somehow lost after that. It’s embarrassing. From there, they just handed the game over. But they are on the brink of financial ruin. So, players aren’t all too inspired at the moment.

[@Kamau1865]

Really impressive attendances, but the sharp decline of Schalke is unlike any I've seen before. There must be serious mismanagement occurring. I remember catching a Schalke game in the Champions League, probably about ten years ago. I was just really grateful because I got to watch the legendary Raul on TV one last time.

[@SouLP196]

I‘m a Schalke fan and I couldn’t agree more to what you are saying. It’s a disaster what happened to us. The current situation is caused by the mismanagement of Clemens Tönnies and Co. Of course there would be more to say about mismanagement but what you said is basically the main reason. I’m furious and sad that my club is at the verge of existence

[@tommyboudreau9760]

Great video. I knew that the situation at Schalke was messy but I didn’t know it was that bad.

[@Caleeb]

i’m a huge schalke fan and regardless what happens to them i’ll be there through and through 💪

[@kadekyogadewantara3288]

It is really heartbreaking, since Schalke has big history, by being relegated, we lost the derby against Dortmund. I wish they could come back stronger.

[@goofygoober779]

Am a fan and lived here for most of the time I can remember. We don't have much here, ever since the coal mines were closed a long time ago, except for football. We eat it, drink it, breathe it. Without it this place wouldn't be the same. The loss in revenue for the city has been huge, also many shops have closed down during covid and even more are closing still. This city lives and dies with the football, Gelsenkirchen.

[@elcatochato4539]

Love the vids

[@Vizeh]

Thank you mate

[@hishaam3786]

Couldn't believe how Schalke have fallen off very much it's heartbreaking to see 😢

[@1258-Eckhart]

That is such disastrous incompetence on behalf of management that I'm thinking it must have been deliberate. Richard III was suffering such personal despair when he got to Bosworth that he galloped straight across the field to Henry Tudor's encampment. That looks to me what Schalke are doing.

[@fakedrage5029]

2:23 VfB Stuttgart just hit 90 000 members

[@luisewegener7993]

Scared to say this out loud, but my heart breaks seeing Schalke so deep in trouble. We need them back in the first Bundesliga, just like my favorite club (also blue-white, a common theme...). This is just not fair...

[@Kyle_Apgar]

I never knew just how big Schalke were until this video. Given that information this is a monumental collapse of a big club. This is close to Barca just falling out of La Liga. Crazy story that I'm glad you covered as it shows that bad management can doom a club in less than 5 years.

[@MrIkOgNiTo]

That's germany bro they're different over there. They have a dozen of giant clubs like Schalke no one outside of their country really understand how big they are. I went to a 1.FC Koln game last season and they also played in front of 50k. I had no idea how big that club is. Their big traditional clubs are massive it's crazy.

[@Qvexilber]

Broski brought me here 😊

[@HLX83]

Please make a video about Werder Bremen. Without investors they managed to stay stable, it was a dance of death in League 2. That's why I'm subscribing to you for now :) It's a shame what's happening to Schalke

[@RefleXAimerZ]

The stadium is worth around 150mil last time that I heard it. And Schalke own more then 95% of it. Not sure if it will go that far. They would need to sell off the stadium and other assets but I have no idea where all this rumour of them liquidating comes from in the last 2-3 days.

[@omer0544]

Schalke fan from israel! Yes you have fans from there lol I miss the age of raul, farfan juardo and so on. I lost track of them several seasons ago … becuse the game of them became so bad, the players are just bad. I hope they wont go down but sometimes building everything from the start is the solution. But what would happen to the fan base the stadium? Fans from germany , what do you think about all of this?

[@naitkaet]

would also count the away attendance. we have an average of over 6k, highest in second division and more than the second in first division

[@KudziM01]

As much as a gem is all of Vizeh's videos, I struggle with his Contents volume. Please increase by like 30 % .

[@cellyszn20]

I don’t think for the life of me that Barca or Real could have that much support and attendance if they had Schalke’s trouble.

[@darrenfitzgerald9351]

Love the content mate you should do one on Hamburg how far they have fallen

[@Infidel67]

Schalker Boy since 1970. Fischer, Abramczik, Kremers, Rüssmann. Was there every Home game and look at this shit now.

[@ta7sint]

It's crazy to see how much money they wasted in the past and in the recent transfer periods they aren't even able to spend 1-2 mio because the budget won't allow it. The result is that the only players they have a realistic chance to get are bench players from smaller teams or those who were injured for a long time. And even those are hard to get. When they were in the 2nd league two years ago they had Itakura who was a loan player from Man City and he was a key player in the defense and even scored goals. And when they managed to return to the 1st league they didn't invest the 5mio to buy him and the defense is amateur level at best since then. That was another huge mistake, being scared, cheap and don't make investments like that when they are needed. It might have saved them from last years relegation because that was a closer one than the 2021 one. Now Itakura plays in Mönchengladbach and increased his market value of course

[@shelton21gaming16]

Love your videos keep it up. Can you do a video on Nottingham forest the rise and fall please ❤

[@Chroar]

I don't want to come across as presumptuous, but we have one of the best youth academies in Germany. But the mentality at Schalke is that they would rather see a veteran. The young players are simply not good enough. That's why you see our NLZ players in almost every club in the first and second leagues, except Schalke. We prefer to start the season with a Terodde (35!), who is now getting support from Wilmots. After moving to another club, Topp is a Bundesliga player, but is too bad for us in the second division. One of the biggest talents up front in Germany, but it's not enough for Schalke. Terodde then scores a total of 6 scorer points in 20 games and as a thank you receives a guarantee from Wilmots. We have a Latza (34) and a Drexler (33) for the ZM who are simply no longer competitive and still get minutes. You then give up Florian Flick and Can Bozdogan because they are not good enough. We'll start with Kaminski (32), and in order to do that we'll either lose U-national players like Barthel or bring in other external players. Matriciani then has to play everywhere except where he belongs. We start the season with Fährmann (35), and in return we are foregoing goalkeeper talent alongside Müller. On the other hand, we lose Mehmet Can Aydin, who regularly plays in the Turkish first division. We are giving away Becker, we are giving away Bozdogan, we are giving away Flick cheaply, and Levent Mercan is also simply being given away (MW €5 million). -- Let's be honest, the ferryman (35), Terodde (35), Latza (34), Drexler (33), Kaminski (32) cover 25% of our salary budget and a Drexler gets a new contract as a thank you for not playing. The U19s are in second place in the U19 Bundesliga, and the young players are then said to be unable to make it. It's better to rely on the old guys. That is our club culture. At the same time, our scouting department hasn't worked for years, a lot of junk is bought and the hidden gems are given away. This is a cultural problem in the club that not only affects the board and management, but also the fans. It's better to have something familiar, the young wild ones just don't deliver in terms of quality. This path has made us as attractive in terms of football as Eintracht Braunschweig. And then you read so often here: The experienced people have to fix it. My goodness, if many people see it that way, I'm really done with the club. We simply don't deserve it any other way.

[@butterpants-bp3nq]

big up vizeh, not even through the whole video but its a nice one!

[@chriscantona3609]

Fun video, good Thumbnail, but some sloppy research. Maybe you want to give a disclaimer first, if you havent checked yor script with someone who is knowledgeable in what you are talking about. Just 2 things: Goretzka wasnt a product of the "Knappenschmiede". He was developed in Bochum. Embolo didnt just "fail" as a transfer. He started extremely promising but was then injured due to a brutal foul just a few weeks in. Bentaleb had an AMAZING first season as a loan. Only after that, Schalke decided to pay the 20 Mil - a fair price for what he showed during the loan. Whoever scouted him did a perfect job. He was then missmanaged - this is why he fell of. He now again plays high level football. Like, you got the narrative right but you are sloppy with the details. I am sure there is Schalke-Fans out there that would've loved to review your script. Have a good day mate!

[@Nathan-jj5hv]

Bro it’s a crazy coincidence that I just started a schalke rebuild and u just posted 😅

[@LilPort999]

Brrrrro that whole Johannes geis/ goose mixup hahhahahahahahahahahhahahaa made me cry as a Dortmund fan!!! Let’s get this sheit up to 5k likes and give this man a goose jersey!!!! Also matondo posted photos in a sancho jersey haha

[@42LGK]

its not like other clubs that went down. if youre not a schalke fan, you cannot imagine how it feels to watch this happening over the last years. it hurts as if someone took your wife and did her in front of you. i still cant believe it all until today. i havent even processed the first descent into 2 bundesliga mentally. i would have never, never ever thought this was possible for such a big club. we havent seen good football since the time raul was here. but we would have never thought that schalke could die like that. even in the clubs song it says schalke will never go down! god this brings tears to my eyes. its not just football its family. GLÜCK AUF EINMAL SCHALKER IMMER SCHALKER

[@Willem-dd1fe]

The big question would be if they had to be liquidated and start from scratch in the Regionalliga again, all their current debt of about 160 - 180 m € would have to be written off. They would start from scratch and the stadium would have to go to an investor or to the city of Gelsenkirchen. - I'm quite sure this scenario will not happen anyway, as Schalke will finish P10 - P12 this season.

[@quandoku1798]

It's sad to see this giant club got relegated and i don't wanna see them in relegation zone again. Schalke's general system are also messed up honestly. I saw their potential to be a Bundesliga contender 5 years ago and they got down so badly

[@shylaGD]

I am a lifelong Dortmund fan. Of course, we hate each other, but damn, what's happening to Schalke right now is really saddening me. Dortmund vs. Schalke was the biggest derby in german football. I really hope they do not relegate again, and hopefully come back to the Bundesliga! Even though we are rivals, we do need each other. There is really missing something...

[@heyzahid]

I supported schalke ever since raul entered. Will always love them, through ever heartbreaks and heartaches. 💙😔

[@inuis3024]

its actually unbelievable how poorly everything was done - how can they just let all these players like matip slide?

[@johnthedon11]

Last season Schalke even had the most away fans in germany with an average of 6000 every game