As recently as January, Omar Mascarell made it clear that he had no intention of leaping headfirst into the lifeboats as the Schalke hull filled with water (Marca).
They do say that a captain should go down with his ship after all.
Just two months later, however, it seemed that life at one of Europe’s worst-run clubs had finally taken its toll on their 28-year-old skipper.
Mascarell’s sudden U-turn smacked of a man tired of the drama, sick to the back teeth of lurching from crisis to catastrophe at a Schalke side who have tumbled from the Champions League knock-out stages to the German second-tier in the space of just two seasons.
“After five years (at the Veltins Arena), what I most want is to look for a new adventure elsewhere,” Mascarell sighed, in conversation with AS.
“It’s time to focus on survival and trying to play as much as possible. Then, I will have to sit down and look at all the options.”
On Tuesday night, following a 1-0 defeat at fellow strugglers Arminia Bielefeld, Schalke were finally put out of their misery, relegated for the first time since 1981.
Even if Mascarell wanted to stay and help the Miners clamber out of a hole of their own making, that decision may be taken out of his hands.
According to AS, Schalke’s dire financial situation means they may have no choice but to sell the one-time Real Madrid youngster. Wolverhampton Wanderers are interested, with Mascarell understood to be available for a bargain £4 million.
Last night’s defeat was not only the final nail in Schalke’s coffin. It also felt like the beginning of the end for their long-suffering skipper.
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