Schalke General Manager Reveals Why They Let Fan Favourite Sead Kolasinac Join Arsenal

General manager at Schalke Christian Heidel has revealed the reason that fan favourite Sead Kolasinac was allowed to leave the club on a free transfer over the summer.

In an interview with German magazine SportBild, Heidel was asked why there was not a better effort from Schalke to keep one of their most popular players. 

He said: "An extension with Seo was not economically justifiable. I have a sporting and an economic responsibility. A populist act, only to avoid possible criticism, would be strange to me."

It was not just the money that was a factor in Kolasinac's decision to leave the club. 

Reports from Gelsenkirchen suggest there is a toxic atmosphere at the club with with players often sacrificed to the press in order to swerve blame away from others. 

The Bosnia and Herzegovina international enjoyed an excellent final season at Schalke, earning himself a place in the Bundesliga team of the season despite the fact that Die Königsblauen finished in 10th place. 

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There was the sliver lining of a run to the quarter finals of the Europa League which saw Schalke knocked out by the eventual finalists Ajax 4-3 on aggregate. 

The comments will not have pleased the Schalke supporters who were upset to see Kolasinac depart the club and have witnessed their side's promising start to the new season blown away by three straight defeats without scoring. 

As for Kolasinac, he has already found the net twice for his club, once in the Community Shield against Chelsea and in the Europa League win over another German side, FC Koln.