the German club Schalke 04 definitively breaks its partnership with the Russian company Gazprom after the invasion in Ukraine

German football club Schalke 04, which plays in the Bundesliga 2 (the second division), announced on Monday February 28 the termination of its contract with its main sponsor, the Russian gas giant Gazprom, following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops.

“The board of directors of FC Schalke 04, with the agreement of the supervisory board, has decided to terminate the contract with Gazprom before its expiry”announces the club on its website.

The partnership between #S04 and #GAZPROM will be ended early.

Full detail ⤵️

— FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) February 28, 2022

The partnership linking the club and the Russian company, whose majority shareholder is the Russian state and which has also sponsored the Champions League since 2012, ran until 2025. It was to bring in 9 million euros per year for Schalke , the club from the city of Gelsenkirchen, a former historical stronghold of football in the Ruhr basin, which fell back to the second division last year.

In the event of a rise in the Bundesliga, the contract even provided for an increase in the allocation of up to 15 million per season. “The financial capacity of the club is not affected by this decision”, says Schalke. And to add: “The club’s management is confident that it will be able to present a new partner very soon.”

This weekend, the boss of Borussia Dortmund, Hans-Joaquim Watzke, the neighboring club of Schalke (30 km separate the two stadiums), had hinted that he could provide financial assistance in the event of breach of contract with Gazprom. “If it is also necessary to appeal to the solidarity of other clubs in Germany, to help Schalke to get out of this situation, then it will have to be discussed”had launched his traditional rival, currently acting co-president of the German Football Federation.