Schalke director of sport Christian Heidel says the Bundesliga side couldn’t afford to keep Sead Kolašinac, and therefore had to let him go to Arsenal in the summer.
Kolašinac joined Arsenal on a free transfer over the summer, after Schalke failed to extend his contract, signing a five-year deal with the Gunners.
The defender clearly still has some affection for his old club, given he wore a “Nordkurve” shirt under his Arsenal top against FC Köln – “Nordkurve” being the name associated with Schalke most passionate fans’ section.
As a result, the fans of the Bundesliga club were unhappy Kolasinac was sold and questioned the club’s bosses on the matter, to which Heidel responded: “An extension with Seo was not economically justifiable. I have a sporting and an economic responsibility,” reports Football.London.
The director said that keeping Kolašinac would have been “a populist act, only to avoid possible criticism. [That] would be strange to me.” With the way the Bosnian has started the season for the Gunners, you could understand if the Schalke fans argued that the sporting benefits would’ve led to economic benefits as well.
The German side have lost half of their league games so far, whilst Kolasinac was busy getting a couple of goals and assists alongside his defensive work. If the wing-back can help push Arsenal to a Champions League spot and Schalke miss out, I think it’s going to be tough decision to take.