Schalke 04: Would promotion to the Bundesliga have an unfortunate side effect involving Dzeko?

According to the report, the Bosnian plans to end his career on a high note – such as promotion. Conversely, this means that if Schalke are in the second tier for the 2026/27 season, the chances of Dzeko staying for another season increase, even though the striker currently only has a contract until the end of the season.

The 40-year-old joined the Gelsenkirchen side during the winter break and, with six goals and three assists in eight matches, quickly established himself as a key figure in coach Miron Muslic’s attacking line-up.

Meanwhile, promotion for Schalke is far from a foregone conclusion. Although Schalke top the table with 52 points from 27 games, their lead over second-placed SV Elversberg is just one point. Lurking in third place, level on points, is SC Paderborn. Furthermore, at least SV Darmstadt 98 (4th/50 points) and Hannover 96 (5th/49 points) still have a say in the matter.

Meanwhile, even without promotion, Dzeko can look back on an eventful and, above all, successful career with Schalke. Following his breakthrough at VfL Wolfsburg, he moved to Manchester City in 2011 for €37 million. He left the English side in 2015, initially on loan and later on a permanent basis, to join AS Roma, where he scored goals until 2021. After Roma, he moved to Inter Milan, before answering the call of Fenerbahçe in Turkey in 2023. Last summer, he signed for AC Florence in Italy once again.

During his career, he made a total of 864 competitive appearances, scoring 377 goals and providing 156 assists. He recorded his highest points tally (173) during his 260 appearances for AS Roma.

In addition to one German and two English league titles, he also won the FA Cup and the League Cup once each, and the Coppa Italia twice.