2026–27 FC Schalke 04 season
Schalke 04 2026–27 football season
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The 2026–27 FC Schalke 04 season is their 123rd season in the football club's history and first consecutive and 55th overall season in the top flight of German football, the Bundesliga, having been promoted from the 2. Bundesliga in 2026. In addition to the domestic league, Schalke will also participate in this season's edition of the domestic cup, the DFB-Pokal. This is the 26th season for Schalke in the Veltins-Arena, located in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia.
| 2026–27 season | |
|---|---|
| CEO | Matthias Tillmann |
| Head coach | Miron Muslić |
| Stadium | Veltins-Arena |
| Bundesliga | Pre-season |
| DFB-Pokal | First round |
| All statistics correct as of 4 May 2026. | |
Players
Note: Players' appearances and goals only in their Schalke career.
- As of 11 June 2026[1]
| No. | Player | Nat | Pos | Age | Contract | Signed from | League | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| began | ends | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||||
| Goalkeepers | |||||||||||
| 1 | Loris Karius |  |
GK | 33 | Jan 2025 | Jun 2028 | Free agent | 34 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| 32 | Luca Podlech | |
GK | 21 | Jul 2024 | Jun 2028 | Schalke 04 U19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Johannes Siebeking | |
GK | 20 | Jul 2025 | Jun 2029 | Schalke 04 U19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders | |||||||||||
| 2 | Felipe Sánchez |  |
CB | 22 | Jul 2024 | Jun 2028 | Gimnasia LP |
29 | 0 | 33 | 0 |
| 3 | Dylan Leonard |  |
CB | 18 | Sep 2025 | Jun 2030 | Western United |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Hasan Kuruçay |  |
CB | 28 | Jul 2025 | Jun 2027 |  OH Leuven |
30 | 4 | 32 | 4 |
| 5 | Timo Becker | |
CB | 29 | Jul 2025 | Jun 2029 | Holstein Kiel | 61 | 0 | 66 | 0 |
| 17 | Adrian Gantenbein |  |
RB | 25 | Jul 2024 | Jun 2028 | Winterthur |
39 | 1 | 41 | 1 |
| 25 | Nikola Katić |  |
CB | 29 | Jul 2025 | Jun 2028 | Zürich |
26 | 1 | 28 | 1 |
| 26 | Tomáš Kalas |  |
CB | 33 | Aug 2023 | Jun 2027 |  Bristol City |
48 | 2 | 50 | 2 |
| 30 | Anton Donkor | |
LB | 28 | Jul 2024 | Jun 2027 | Eintracht Braunschweig | 28 | 0 | 31 | 0 |
| 33 | Vitalie Becker | |
LB | 21 | Jul 2024 | Jun 2027 | Schalke 04 U19 | 21 | 2 | 22 | 2 |
| 43 | Mertcan Ayhan | |
CB | 19 | Jul 2025 | Jun 2028 | Schalke 04 U19 | 27 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| Steve Noode |  |
CB | 21 | Aug 2024 | Jun 2029 | A.S. International |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Martin Wasinski | |
CB | 22 | Jul 2024 | Jun 2028 | Charleroi |
1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Midfielders | |||||||||||
| 6 | Ron Schallenberg | |
DM | 27 | Jul 2023 | Jun 2027 | SC Paderborn | 90 | 3 | 94 | 3 |
| 14 | Janik Bachmann | |
CM/DM | 30 | Jul 2024 | Jun 2027 | Hansa Rostock | 48 | 3 | 52 | 3 |
| 21 | Dejan Ljubičić |  |
CM | 28 | Jan 2026 | Jun 2028 |  Dinamo Zagreb |
15 | 4 | 15 | 4 |
| 23 | Soufiane El-Faouzi |  |
CM | 23 | Jul 2025 | Jun 2029 | Alemannia Aachen | 34 | 2 | 36 | 2 |
| 24 | Adil Aouchiche |  |
AM | 23 | Feb 2026 | Jun 2027 | Sunderland |
14 | 3 | 14 | 3 |
| 27 | Finn Porath | |
RM/AM | 29 | Aug 2025 | Jun 2027 | Holstein Kiel | 18 | 1 | 19 | 1 |
| 37 | Max Grüger | |
CM/DM | 21 | Jul 2024 | Jun 2028 | Schalke 04 U19 | 27 | 1 | 30 | 1 |
| 38 | Luca Vozar | |
DM | 19 | Jul 2026 | Jun 2028 | Schalke 04 U19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Satoshi Tanaka |  |
DM | 23 | Jul 2026 | Jun 2030 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mauro Zalazar |  |
CM | 21 | Aug 2024 | Jun 2028 |  Granada U19 |
1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Forwards | |||||||||||
| 7 | Christian Gomis |  |
ST | 25 | Sep 2025 | Jun 2029 | Winterthur |
19 | 1 | 19 | 1 |
| 9 | Moussa Sylla |  |
ST | 26 | Jul 2024 | Jun 2028 |  Pau |
57 | 23 | 60 | 23 |
| 11 | Bryan Lasme | |
ST | 27 | Jul 2023 | Jun 2027 | Arminia Bielefeld | 45 | 6 | 48 | 7 |
| 15 | Emil Højlund |  |
ST | 21 | Jul 2024 | Jun 2028 | Copenhagen |
14 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| 19 | Kenan Karaman (captain) | |
ST/AM | 32 | Sep 2022 | Jun 2028 | Beşiktaş |
111 | 41 | 118 | 43 |
| 35 | Mika Wallentowitz | |
RW/RM | 18 | Jul 2026 | Jun 2030 | Schalke 04 U19 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 39 | Peter Remmert | |
ST | 20 | Jul 2024 | Jun 2028 | VfL Osnabrück U19 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 47 | Zaid Tchibara |  |
ST | 20 | Jul 2025 | Jun 2028 | Schalke 04 U19 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Ilyes Hamache | |
LW | 23 | Aug 2024 | Jun 2028 | Valenciennes |
11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Junior Adamu | |
ST | 25 | Jul 2026 | Jun 2029 | SC Freiburg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Transfers
In
| Player | Nat | Pos | From | Type | Transfer fee | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Adamu | |
FW | SC Freiburg |
Transfer | €800,000 | 1 Jul 2026 | [2] |
| Satoshi Tanaka | |
MF | Fortuna Düsseldorf |
Transfer | €1,000,000 | 1 Jul 2026 | [3] |
| Ilyes Hamache | |
FW | Amiens |
Loan return | — | 1 Jul 2026 | |
| Steve Noode | |
DF |  Union Titus Pétange |
Loan return | — | 1 Jul 2026 | |
| Martin Wasinski | |
DF | RFC Liège |
Loan return | — | 1 Jul 2026 | |
| Mauro Zalazar | |
MF |  Braga |
Loan return | — | 1 Jul 2026 | |
| Luca Vozar | |
MF | Schalke 04 U19 |
Promoted | — | 1 Jul 2026 | [4] |
| Mika Wallentowitz | |
FW | Schalke 04 U19 |
Promoted | — | 1 Jul 2026 | [5][6] |
Out
| Player | Nat | Pos | To | Type | Transfer fee | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher Antwi-Adjei |  |
MF | Free agent | End of contract | — | 1 Jul 2026 | [7] |
| Edin Džeko | |
FW | Free agent | End of contract | — | 1 Jul 2026 | |
| Henning Matriciani | |
DF | Free agent | End of contract | — | 1 Jul 2026 | [8] |
| Kevin Müller | |
GK | 1. FC Heidenheim |
Loan return | — | 1 Jul 2026 | |
| Moussa N'Diaye | |
DF | Anderlecht |
Loan return | — | 1 Jul 2026 |
New contracts
| Player | Nat | Pos | Contract until | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loris Karius | |
GK | Jun 2028 | 9 Jun 2026 | [9] |
Friendly matches
Win Draw Loss
| 11 July 2026 1 | FC Gütersloh | v | Schalke 04 | Gütersloh |
| 14:00 CEST (UTC+2) | Stadium: Heidewaldstadion |
| 19 July 2026 2 | Erzgebirge Aue | v | Schalke 04 | Aue |
| 14:00 CEST (UTC+2) | Stadium: Erzgebirgsstadion |
| 1 August 2026 3 | Hessen Kassel | v | Schalke 04 | Kassel |
| 14:00 CEST (UTC+2) | Stadium: Auestadion |
Competitions
Overview
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Bundesliga | 28–30 August 2026 | 22 May 2027 | Matchday 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | — |
| DFB-Pokal | 21–24 August 2026 | First round | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | — | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | — | |||
Source: Soccerway
Bundesliga
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 15 | Bayern Munich | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 16 | SC Paderborn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification for the relegation play-offs |
| 17 | Schalke 04 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to 2. Bundesliga |
| 18 | VfB Stuttgart | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 28 August 2026. Source: Bundesliga
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored; 6) Away goals scored; 7) Play-off.[10]
(Rules 4–6 only apply after home and away matches have been played between the tied teams.)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored; 6) Away goals scored; 7) Play-off.[10]
(Rules 4–6 only apply after home and away matches have been played between the tied teams.)
Results summary
| Overall | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Soccerway
Results by round
First match(es) will be played on 28 August 2026. Source: Bundesliga Official Website
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Matches
| 28–30 August 2026 1 | v |
| 4–6 September 2026 2 | v |
| 11–13 September 2026 3 | v |
| 18–20 September 2026 4 | v |
| 9–11 October 2026 5 | v |
| 16–18 October 2026 6 | v |
| 23–25 October 2026 7 | v |
| 30 Oct.–1 Nov. 2026 8 | v |
| 6–8 November 2026 9 | v |
| 20–22 November 2026 10 | v |
| 27–29 November 2026 11 | v |
| 4–6 December 2026 12 | v |
| 11–13 December 2026 13 | v |
| 18–20 December 2026 14 | v |
| 8–10 January 2027 15 | v |
| 12–14 January 2027 16 | v |
| 15–17 January 2027 17 | v |
| 22–24 January 2027 18 | v |
| 29–31 January 2027 19 | v |
| 5–7 February 2027 20 | v |
| 12–14 February 2027 21 | v |
| 19–21 February 2027 22 | v |
| 26–28 February 2027 23 | v |
| 2–4 March 2027 24 | v |
| 5–7 March 2027 25 | v |
| 12–14 March 2027 26 | v |
| 19–21 March 2027 27 | v |
| 2–4 April 2027 28 | v |
| 9–11 April 2027 29 | v |
| 16–18 April 2027 30 | v |
| 23–25 April 2027 31 | v |
| 7–9 May 2027 32 | v |
| 14–16 May 2027 33 | v |
DFB-Pokal
| 21–24 August 2026 1R | Hallescher FC | v | Schalke 04 | Halle |
| Report | Stadium: Leuna-Chemie-Stadion |
Statistics
- As of the start of the 2026-27 Season
Squad statistics
A = Appearances, S = Starts, G = Goals, 
= yellow cards, 
= red cards