"Never against the club": Why he made the move to Schalke | OneFootball

Andreas Möller has achieved everything in football. The now 58-year-old former professional can call himself a world and European champion. He won the German Championship, the DFB-Pokal, the Champions League, and also the UEFA Cup. He caused a great stir with his move from Borussia Dortmund to FC Schalke 04.

From 1988 to 1990 and again from 1994 to 2000, the native of Frankfurt wore the black and yellow jersey. But then Möller moved to the great arch-rival in Gelsenkirchen. This was initially not well received by both fan groups.

"My contract with Borussia expired, and there were changes there," recalls the gifted technician in the podcast kicker meets DAZN. That year, Matthias Sammer (also 58 today) took over the training at BVB. Although he was "very close" with his former teammate, he somehow "didn't want it that way," Möller candidly shares.

His contract with Borussia expired in the summer of the millennium. Clubs from China and Qatar approached the midfield director. Financially, a move would have been worthwhile, but the offers did not appeal to him sportingly, Möller reveals. "I was 32, but I still felt good and said that I could play at a very good level for a few more years," he reports. An engagement in Gelsenkirchen, of all places, seemed much more appealing to him.

"Not to win a war"

The 85-time national player knew that a move from Dortmund to Schalke would be "very, very difficult." But he wanted to prove himself once more in the autumn of his career, to show his critics, who called him a "crybaby." "I wanted to counteract the image that I was a softie and that no war could be won with me. That was the reason," the 58-year-old affirms.

Schalke's then-manager Rudi Assauer played an important, if not decisive, role. The former Borussia Dortmund professional, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 74, "absolutely" wanted to sign him. "The way he tackled the situation was very impressive."

To the BVB fans who were upset about the move, he says today: "I understand their perspective, but it was never directed against the club. I wanted to take this step for myself, to simply leave this image behind me."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.