Schalke are far from shining in the German second-tier this season and the big question is whether they will be able to achieve promotion back to the elite against the strong competition such as Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV. At the same time, the debt of over 220 million USD constantly hinders the normal functioning of the club.To make matters worse for one of the most popular German teams, a decision has just been made that their biggest sponsor, Gazprom, must leave the club. After 15 years of very successful cooperation, the Germans decided to remove all the features of the Russian company and terminate the cooperation, and the reason is the military intervention which Vladimir Putin initiated in Ukraine.The ripple effect – Schalke take Gazprom off their shirts after 15 yearsThe financial blow for the club is best shown by the fact that according to the last agreement, Schalke received a sum of as much as 33.5 million USD per year from Gazprom. It was significantly reduced after the relegation from Bundesliga 1, but it would also come back to its maximum value as soon as the return to the elite is reached.Gazprom came to Gelsenkirchen thanks to the good relations between the former first man of that club, Clemens Tonnies, and Putin. When the first contract was signed in 2007, Schalke broke the record when it comes to sponsorships in German sports, as they collected more than Bayern did from Deutsche Telekom.Sat 15:30: (1.80) Schalke (3.60) Hansa (4.60)Through all these years, the Russian company has pumped close to 450 million USD into the club with various bonuses.It will be interesting to see what future awaits Schalke after such a decision. In any case, it is hard to digest that there is no political pressure involved…
