Ralf Fährmann speaks bluntly about FC Schalke 04: curious anecdotes about Manuel Neuer and Borussia Dortmund | Goal.com

Published on 29 Sep 2026 | Reading time: 4 minutes

In excerpts from the book published in advance by Sport Bild, Fährmann reveals, among other things, the ritual he used before away games against Schalke's arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund: "When I stepped onto the pitch in Dortmund to warm up, my first official act was always to spit heartily in the direction of the Südtribüne, the 'Yellow Wall'. On the 'Süd' there are more than 20,000 lunatics who all want us dead. Spitting was always my special greeting to them."

Back when Fährmann first broke into the S04 senior squad, Manuel Neuer was still the Royal Blues' No. 1. "He really changed goalkeeping," the 38-year-old says admiringly of his former team-mate, before offering some interesting insights into Neuer: "It wasn't that Manu didn't like going out partying. On the contrary: Manu was part of the ultras and often 'worked his magic' with them too. Later, as a professional, he sometimes even travelled back with the ultras' train instead of on the team bus. Or wore an ultra T-shirt under his goalkeeper shirt."

After a loan spell at Eintracht Frankfurt from 2009 to 2011, Fährmann initially established himself as Schalke's new No. 1 once Neuer had left Gelsenkirchen for Bayern Munich. A cruciate ligament rupture then stopped him in his tracks in autumn 2011, and he did not win back his regular place until the end of 2013, holding on to it until the start of 2019. Schalke coach Domenico Tedesco then demoted him.

"I sensed that something wasn't right, but I would never in my life have expected what was waiting for me," Fährmann recalls of the conversation in question. "Inside, Domenico Tedesco was sitting relaxed on a sofa. His assistant coach Peter Perchtold was sitting on a chair. Tedesco asked: 'How are you?' Answer: 'Good.' Tedesco: 'For the second half of the season, we're going to make a goalkeeper change. Alex Nübel will be the new No. 1.' From that point, my autopilot took over: 'Why?' That was all I managed to get out," said the former Germany youth international goalkeeper.

What did it feel like to lose his regular place at the club closest to his heart, having joined as a 14-year-old from faraway Chemnitz? "I went back to my room. They had just ripped out my heart and soul. I felt as if a part of me had died," explains Fährmann, who a few months later was loaned to Norwich City and immediately afterwards to Brann Bergen.

When he returned to Schalke in summer 2020, he was relegated a year later as the No. 1. From that first second-tier season, one moment stands out in particular: an address from then coach Dimitrios Grammozis. "How can I best describe him? After a 2-1 defeat in Düsseldorf, he raged in the match analysis a day later: 'You want to f*ck me? You want to f*ck my staff? You can f*ck your Insta-girlfriends, but not me'." That made it all the stranger, because Schalke at the time had "probably the most well-behaved team I had played in", according to Fährmann. "Many were family men. The team fell silent in embarrassment after that tirade."

Fährmann also has some curious stories about former S04 board member for sport Peter Knäbel, who worked at Schalke in various roles from 2018 to 2024: "He always crept silently through corridors and would suddenly be standing in front of you. He always left his office door open. We speculated that he did it so he could overhear our conversations," Fährmann writes before turning to Knäbel's "legendary blazer": "It hung somewhere different every day. Sometimes with the physios, sometimes in our dressing room, sometimes in the gym. He blamed it on his forgetfulness. We suspected that this was how he listened in on us. Which says a lot about our relationship with him."

By contrast, Fährmann's end at Schalke was rather undignified. In pre-season in summer 2024, he had been moved to the Under-23s, and in the autumn that followed a mud-slinging battle developed between club and player, and it quickly became clear that Fährmann's contract, which expired in 2025, would not be extended.

"And so everything was taken away from me, someone who had left his home and family for Schalke at the age of 14. My training parking space - gone. Banned from the dressing room. I was no longer allowed to shower. I felt like I had to get changed in a Dixi toilet, since the Under-23s were housed in a makeshift container village. I had to train with amateur and youth players. And my tickets for the matches were taken away too," recalls Fährmann, who made the last of his 289 competitive appearances for S04 at the end of January 2024 in a 4-1 defeat in Kaiserslautern.

Now living in Switzerland, the former goalkeeper still cannot let go of the club closest to his heart despite that disappointing farewell: "As much as I have tried to ignore Schalke, I can't do it. I follow all the matches on TV and I so badly want sporting success for the fans. Despite everything: I love Schalke. That is the truth," Fährmann stresses.

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