FC Schalke: Alexander Nubel in prime hero or villain territory

FC Schalke just extended Amine Harit, and now all eyes turn to Alexander Nubel as he ponders his future. Time to embrace the role of hero or villain.

FC Schalke fans around the world celebrated with the news that Amine Harit had extended his stay through 2024. It was such a welcome turn around from the usual order of things at the club, where players would near the breakthrough to superstar and then move on to a “bigger stage.”

But Harit turned the tides and asserted himself a Schalke hero who had the best interested of the club at heart, and who wanted to solidify himself as a Knappen through and through. That shouldn’t take as much courage as it did, but this is a club in a unique place and needing to build a foundation to get back to the top where they belong.

Now all eyes shift to Alexander Nubel, who is in a very similar situation. The only difference is that Harit could not have walked for free, he would have required a purchase, whereas Nubel is outj of contract and could pull the dreaded Bosman if he so desires.

Harit was a huge victory, don’t get me wrong. But Nubel would be even bigger. And now that Harit has declared his loyalty to the club in a way that so few others are willing to do these days, Nubel is in a position of joining him as a hero or joining so many others before him as a villain.

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• Schalke 04: David Wagner just has to make it to the end of the season
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That said, the villain that Nubel would become would be even greater than the likes of Leon Goretzka, because Goretzka walked out of a club that was falling apart (albeit briefly). No one was staying.

If Nubel walks out on the club while they are fighting for a Champions League spot and while other players of equal international status are staying, he exacerbates the villain status and goes against the new grain of dedication to the club.

Maybe I’m blowing it out of proportion, but I really don’t think so. Letting such a tremendous player go for free sets the club back in a big way, not just financially, but in terms of confidence and growth. Villains do that to their clubs.

Heroes see that the club that raised them, that gave them that chance, are worth fighting for. That’s why Harit is a hero. And that’s why Nubel can be one too.