WIf you have read the many gloomy headlines about the economic situation of FC Schalke 04 over the past few years, you will be somewhat surprised at the calmness with which Christina Rühl-Hamers looks at her work at the ailing football company from Gelsenkirchen. “I sleep very well,” says the qualified auditor, who has been working in the finance department of the Revierklub since 2010, initially at director level and since 2020 as a member of the three-person board. Rühl-Hamers repeatedly experienced occasions to panic. Schalke has been referred to as a “debt club” for years, and sometimes even rumors about liquidity problems circulated.
After the outbreak of the pandemic, staff described the situation as “existentially threatening”, and in 2021 the club were relegated to the second division with a squad that was eating up €80m a season in salaries, when suddenly there were only €20m available.
