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Schalke 04 to say farewell to seven players ahead of final game of the season
FC Schalke will be saying goodbye to a number of players ahead of their final home game of the 2024/25 season against SV Elversberg on Sunday (18/5, 15:30 CEST). Mehmet Can Aydin, Marcin Kaminski, Tobias Mohr, Michael Langer, Ralf Fährmann, Dominick Drexler and Aymen Barkok, whose contracts are all set to expire at the end of June, will all receive an official farewell from CEO Matthias Tillmann and director of professional football Youri Mulder around 50 minutes prior to kick-off at the VELTINS-Arena.
A product of the Knappenschmiede academy, Aydin is set to leave after 11 years at the club. The 23-year-old joined the Royal Blues in summer 2014 from the Borussia Mönchengladbach academy and made his way up the ranks before breaking into the first team during the 2020/21 season. Aydin has been capped 29 times for Germany at youth level and featured a total of 73 times in all competitions for Schalke’s senior side.
Marcin Kaminski was part of Schalke’s promotion-winning squad in summer 2022, having joined ahead of the season from VfB Stuttgart. The centre-back was therefore able to help the team earn an immediate return to the Bundesliga. Kaminski has been capped seven times for Poland and featured in 101 competitive games for the Royal Blues (9 goals, 4 assists).
Tobias Mohr joined the Royal Blues in summer 2022, having previously enjoyed stints at 1. FC Heidenheim, SpVgg Greuther Fürth and Alemannia Aachen. The midfielder scored five goals and provided 16 assists in 68 competitive matches for Schalke.
After eight years in Royal Blue, goalkeeper Michael Langer’s contract will not be renewed. The Austrian joined the club in 2017 from IFK Norrköping and has since been a valuable member of the club’s goalkeeper set up. During his time at the club, ‘Michi’ always worked hard in training, in addition to being part of the club’s team council.
Ralf Fährmann joined FC Schalke 04 at the age of 14, going on to win the U19 Bundesliga with the club in 2006. A year later, he made the leap up into the club’s first team. In 2009, Fährmann joined Eintracht Frankfurt before returning to Schalke two years later. That same year, he was voted Man of the Match in the final of the Supercup against Borussia Dortmund. The goalkeeper was able to enjoy several successful seasons with the Royal Blues in the years that followed, although injury setbacks and changes within the goalkeeping set-up prevented him from featuring more at times. He then went out on loan to Norwich City and SK Brann during the 2019/20 season before returning to Schalke in July 2020. Fährmann was part of the Schalke squad that earned promotion back to the Bundesliga in 2021/22, having suffered relegation with the side in both 2021 and 2023.
Dominick Drexler will retire from professional football at the end of the season, at which point he will take up a position as assistant coach of the Schalke U17s. The 34-year-old featured in 383 competitive games at professional level across his stints at FC Schalke 04, 1. FC Köln, Holstein Kiel, VfR Aalen, SpVgg Greuther Fürth and Rot-Weiß Erfurt. He was also part of the Royal Blue’s promotion-winning squad in 2022.
Aymen Barkok joined the Royal Blues on 3rd February 2025, and has since featured in six matches for the side (1 assist). His contract is set to expire on 30th June and will not be extended.
