Aílton & Krstajic signed: When Werder Bremen raged against Schalke

Brazilian rejected transfer change

Transfer negotiations can be difficult, long and fraught with pitfalls. Professionals sometimes want to force their transfer to the club of their dreams and to do so, they risk getting into trouble with their current employer, losing credit with supporters or causing astonishment among their superiors. (Site notre blog d’information) looks at past transfers characterized by loud background noise. This time the center of attention: the transfer of successful duo Aílton and Mladen Krstajic from Werder Bremen to rivals FC Schalke 04, accompanied by poisoned arrows.

When Schalke used Bremen several times in the early 2000s, not only the Green and White managers and fans were angry, but also (Site notre blog d’information) founder and Werder supporter Matthias Seidel, who quickly deleted Knappen’s profile of his side and caused an uproar. Two decades later, the problems long forgotten, Seidel and the Royal Blues also made peace – in the fall of 2003 the world was completely different.

SVW dominated the Bundesliga as championship leader in 2003/04 and was even supposed to win the double at the end of a brilliant season, for which defense chief Mladen Krstajic and later top scorer Aílton were also responsible. The experienced professionals constituted the bulwark and the heart of a homogeneous team which frightened the competition. What would happen then? Schalke and their powerful manager Rudi Assauer did not want to sit idly by and took action. It was first announced at the beginning of October 2003 that the 29-year-old Krstajic would be transferred for free at the end of the season, and a day later it was clear that Aílton (30) would also be transferred for free to Gelsenkirchen. A hard blow to Bremen’s face. The Serbian Krstajic signed up for S04 for four years, his Brazilian teammate for two years plus an option. “Schalke plunders championship leader Werder,” headlined “Der Spiegel”.

« I don’t think the way this change happened is fair. It’s a big blow for the fans and also for us, » Werder sporting director Klaus Allofs said of the departures. « We are of course disappointed with this, but also with Schalke’s approach. There were different rules in the past, notably when Schalke manager Rudi Assauer worked with Werder Bremen. » The Royal Blues creator had spent many years as a player and manager at Werder and, according to Bremer’s account, failed to inform his former club before the deal was concluded. Werder CEO Jürgen L. Born explained: « There were friendships. There is an interpersonal relationship between Dr. Böhmert (head of the supervisory board; editor) and Assauer that has lasted for 30 years. And then it is not possible to sit in our stadium on Sunday, drink beers for free, choose the players and then announce the matter in this way. »

Future Bremen head coach Thomas Schaaf revealed: “I feel immense anger building up inside me. » And: « What is happening here is absolutely disappointing. We are all shocked, the fans, the club. You see what could be possible with this team in the long term, and then two top players break away. » Because: “It’s frustrating, you train people and then the stupid money comes. » Schalke’s salary dimensions were far too important for the Weser club, for whom it was not enough to go « to the limit of the possible » (Allofs). « I negotiated with Werder, but they didn’t offer me what I was worth, after all I have to think about my family, » Aílton revealed at a press conference. A salary of between 4 and 4.5 million euros would have been possible for the Schalke photographer. Krstajic offered a million euros more than Bremen could offer. « In terms of possibilities, Schalke can be compared to very few clubs in the championship. For me, it is an absolutely top address, » said Aílton to explain his decision.

Aílton and Krstajic debauched: Werder is angry, Schalke retaliates

« We have to explain to the fans and make the players understand that things will continue. There is a bitter aftertaste when it comes to transfers, » Allofs said. Schaaf warned of the two painful departures: « They are paid by us and must not let themselves down now. » The mission was clearly accomplished with the championship and the cup victory.

Schalke rejected accusations of cut-throat competition. « It’s laughable. We behaved fairly and decently and did not buy back players with current contracts. Bremen were informed and the transfers were then made public, » Assauer responded. The joy of the double reinforcement coming from the north nevertheless prevailed. “Aílton is exactly the man who fits our profile of requirements and he is even more dangerous than Emile Mpenza.” The speedy Belgian left the club for Liège this summer.

Coach Jupp Heynckes also said enthusiastically: « Our intention is to bring more quality and more competition into the team. We have succeeded. Aílton is one of the best strikers in the Bundesliga and has continued to prove his class in recent years. » The 34-year-old Austrian striker Edi Glieder did not live up to expectations.

It was certainly not the first time that Schalke found suitable new recruits on the Weser: in 2002, goalkeeper Frank Rost changed teams for 6.25 million euros, and in 1998 it was goalkeeper Oliver Reck for 700,000 euros.

Neither Krstajic nor Aílton found the move away from Bremen easy. « When Mladen told me he was making this change, he had tears in his eyes, » Bremen coach Schaaf said in the « Sportschau » podcast « The fairy tale of Werder 2004 ». And the attacker would have preferred to make a different decision a posteriori. « The season wasn’t over yet when Aílton tried everything again to cancel his signing for Schalke. But of course it was no longer possible, » revealed coach Allofs.

A drama developed, but without a happy ending. According to Werder boss Born, Aílton introduced himself to him, after which Born picked up the phone and told Assauer of Aílton’s doubts. « If someone doesn’t want to go to Schalke, they don’t have to go there, » the Schalke coach was quoted as saying. So there is still a back door for the Brazilian? « We told him, ‘You can keep our old contract and we’ll do so much more, is that okay with you?’ » Born revealed. Aílton apparently agreed and Assauer also agreed to terminate the contract. But the attacker would have hesitated too long. Born explained: « Then I said: ‘If you don’t sign the contract within two days, you can buy a moped and drive to Schalke.’ » The U-turn did not happen. Because Aílton maintained his yes to Schalke. « My father always told me: ‘No matter how important you are, no matter how full your account is – one man, one word.’ » Aílton’s contract with Schalke could have been declared invalid because certain conditions were not met, claimed at least former Werder general manager Manfred Müller.

The anger over the two transfers was so great that even the German (Site notre blog d’information) League looked into the matter and wanted to investigate Schalke. « We have received a letter from the DFL. The league wants information on the process and we will be very happy to provide you with information, » Bremen spokesman Michael Rudolph said. As a result, S04 should have informed Werder at the start of contract negotiations. “This certainly did not happen in the case of Ailton, which is why our reactions were so strong,” said Allofs, sports director of the SVW. Schalke spokesman Gerd Voss remained relaxed and stressed: « We let this happen to us. We behaved correctly. » And according to Assauer, it would have been “negligent of us not to try to find these players” anyway. But only after a hint from the players’ agents did the matter become concrete: « The players’ agents had gone to the market, and so we also got wind of it. We acted quickly and made everything clear. We then informed the club, the DFB and the DFL. » Assauer did not understand Bremen’s additional cards because « I have already lost players. »

Schalke coach Heynckes: Werder Bremen complaints are ‘amateur’

S04 coach Heynckes did not understand the North’s complaints. He said in an interview with « Welt »: « I don’t understand, it’s even amateurism. Both players were on the market. It was not us who contacted the players, but they were offered to us by their agents. » From an “emotional point of view” he could understand the complaints of the SVW. « On the other hand, the gentlemen from Bremen know as much as we do that these were completely normal transfers. Furthermore, Werder had plenty of time to extend them both. That’s why I don’t think Bremen can be upset. » There can be no question of salaries being too high at Schalke. « I can only laugh at the figures we hear from Bremen. At Schalke no utopian salaries are paid, » Heynckes said.

Krstajic’s stay at Schalke was more lasting than Aílton’s; the defender played 183 matches between 2004 and 2009, in which he scored nine goals and provided six assists, after which he finished his career at Partizan Belgrade. Aílton joined Besiktas after just one year with 20 goals (six assists) in 44 games, but he never settled anywhere, as the collection of short chapters in Istanbul, Hamburg, Belgrade, Zurich, Donetsk, Altach, Campina Grande, Chongqing, Uerdingen, Oberneuland, Americana and Bingen documents. “If I had not moved so hastily from Schalke to Istanbul in July 2005, my career would certainly have been different and above all better,” Aílton said in 2020. Or ideally not from Werder to Schalke at all?

Note: This article was first published on (Site notre blog d’information) in July 2025 and has now been republished.

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