Gerald Asamoah to leave Schalke 04 at the end of the season

“As part of the continual, sustainable restructuring of sport, we have decided as the club officials that the role of first-team manager will no longer exist for the new season at Schalke. Correspondingly, our work with Gerald is coming to an end,” said Schalke’s CEO, Matthias Tillmann. The 40-year-old went on to say: “With the conclusion of his management degree at the DFL and DFB, the time has come for Gerald to take the next step. I informed him in a personal conversation that we can’t give him this outlook at this moment in time.”

Until the end of the 2023/24 season, Gerald Asamoah will assist the transition within the first-team set-up and focus fully on supporting the club during the important final phases of the season. “Everyone knows what Schalke 04 means to me. I didn’t just play football here and make my first steps working behind the scenes, but also developed over two decades into the person that I am today. I’m extremely thankful for that. I’ve grown to love the club, the fans and the whole environment and always tried to make everyone associated with Schalke proud. It’s therefore even more painful for me to be ending this chapter for now. Nothing else is possible in the current situation though. I’m certain however that this club will always be a part of me. This is more than just lip service: once a Schalker, always a Schalker.”

Tillmann acknowledged Asamoah’s dedication to the club, which extends beyond his work on the pitch: “Asa is a Schalke legend, as he contributed towards many special moments and historical achievements during his playing career. Alongside his footballing legacy, Asa’s commitment to socio-political matters will certainly leave a lasting impact, particularly in his work surrounding the fight against racism and xenophobia. With ‘#STEHTAUF’, he co-founded and significantly shaped a central initiative of the club. Gerald is always welcome back to the Berger Feld, and will always have a home here. We wish him all the best in both his private and professional future.”

Since moving to Gelsenkirchen from Hannover 96 in the summer of 1999, Asamoah has developed a close connection to the club. The former Germany international won the DFB-Pokal in both 2001 and 2002 with the Knappen, and took on various managerial roles within the club after retiring from his playing career. The 45-year-old became the U23s manager in 2016, and was pivotal in securing their promotion back into the Regionalliga West. The ex-Bundesliga forward became responsible for the coordination and optimisation of the first-team set-up at the club in February 2021, and later went on to act as a point of contact for the management team and the sport director.