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The seven-times German Championship winners, FC Schalke 04 is one of the most followed football teams in Germany grooming some of the biggest talents in football during the last few years.
However, the Royal Blues haven't won the league title since 1958 which makes it hard for them to keep hold of their best talents. Last season's Bundesliga runners-up have started the new season on a sour note too, losing their first two games.
Mesut Ozil, Manuel Neuer, Julian Draxler were all fan favourites at Arena AufSchalke (Veltins Arena) before making their names elsewhere. Nevertheless, they still have a decent squad and could have proven to be a serious threat to Bayern Munich's Bundesliga dominance if they had managed to keep all their star players at the club.
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Here's the Schalke XI if they had their best players.
Formation: 4-3-3
Goalkeeper - Manuel Neuer
Arguably the best goalkeeper in the world, Manuel Neuer came through the ranks of FC Schalke's youth academy and is one of the four players from the Knappenschmiede who won the FIFA World Cup 2014.
He joined FC Schalke at the age of five and made his league debut for the club during the 2006-2007 season. Neuer made 156 Bundesliga appearances for the Royal Blues and led the team to its first Champions League semi-final appearance in 2011. He also won the DFB Pokal 2011 with the Miners.
The German international joined Bayern Munich in 2011 on a free transfer and is now an essential part of the Bavarians. He won the UEFA Champions League in 2013 including six Bundesliga winners' medals to add to his impressive trophy cabinet.
The 32-year-old won four IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper awards between 2013 and 2016 and was also voted third for the Ballon d'Or 2014 award.
Full-backs
Sead Kolasinac - The German-born Bosnian footballer, Sead Kolasinac started his professional career with the Royal Blues' second team, FC Schalke II and was later promoted to the first team during the 2012-2013 season.
He played 94 Bundesliga games for the club and was regarded as one of the league-best full-backs during his final years at the club. He was also a part of the Bundesliga Team of the Season 2016-17.
The 25-year-old joined Arsenal on a free transfer in 2017 and won the FA Community Shield 2017 with the Gunners
Rafinha - The Brazillian fullback signed for Schalke in 2005 from Coritiba and made 153 Bundesliga appearances during his five-year stay at the club.
He left the club to sign for the Seria A side Genoa in 2010 and eventually made a move to Schalke's rivals, Bayern Munich in 2011. He won 16 trophies with the Bavarians including six Bundesliga titles and one Champions League trophy.
Centre-backs
Joel Matip - The Cameroonian international joined the club as a 9-year-old and went on to become one of the most accomplished centre-backs in the Bundesliga during his prime days with the club.
Matip made 194 Bundesliga appearances for Gelsenkirchen spanning across seven years, before joining the Premier League side Liverpool on a free transfer in 2016.
Matip started his Liverpool career excellently and received a lot of plaudits during his first season at the club. But he suffered quite a few injury problems during his second season at the club hampering his consistency.
Benedikt Howedes - German international Benedikt Howedes joined his boyhood club at the age of 13 and graduated through S04's youth system to become the club captain in 2011.
The centre-back made more than 300 appearances for the Royal Blues and helped the team win DFB-Pokal in 2011 and DFL Supercup in 2011.
He joined Juventus on a season-long loan with an option to buy in 2017, but the Old Lady opted against making his move permanent and he joined Locomotive Moscow in the summer transfer window of 2018.
Howedes won the FIFA World Cup 2014 and holds 44 senior German caps to his name till date.
Midfielders
Ivan Rakitic - FIFA World Cup 2018 silver medalist, Ivan Rakitic, joined Schalke 04 from FC Basel in 2007 and spent four years at the Gelsenkirchen based club.
He made 117 Bundesliga appearances for Schalke 04, scoring 17 goals. His performances for the club caught the attention of the big clubs across Europe and he eventually joined Sevilla in 2011.
The Croatian international won the Europa League 2014 with Sevilla before making his move to Barcelona in 2014. He is a crucial member of Barcelona for the last four seasons and is still contracted to the club.
Mesut Ozil - One of the most technically gifted playmakers of his generation, Mesut Ozil joined FC Schalke's youth team in 2005 and made his first-team debut for the club as a 17-year old during the 2006-2007 season.
However, his stay at the Schalke didn't last for long and he joined Wolfsburg in 2008 after falling out with the club management. He played 39 games in all competitions for the Royal Blues scoring 1 goals and recording 5 assists.
His performances in the FIFA World Cup 2010 caught the attention of big clubs across Europe and he eventually signed for Real Madrid during the summer transfer window of 2010. He won one LaLiga, one Copa del Rey, and one Supercopa de España with the Spanish Giants before making a switch to Arsenal in 2013.
The 29-year-old won a number of individual awards during the course of his career including five German Player of the Year awards.
Leon Goretzka - FC Schalke lost a number of good players for free during the last few years and Leon Goretzka is the latest one to leave the Royal Blues on a Bosman-deal to join Bayern Munich last summer.
Goretzka was signed by FC Schalke in 2013 from VfL Bochum and he impressed in his first season itself by scoring five goals in 32 games for the club. He played 116 times for the Miners, scoring 14 goals.
Bochum born midfielder feature regularly for the German National Team and won the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 along with the silver medal in the Summer Olympics Games 2016. He also won the Silver Boot and Bronze Ball in the Fifa Confederations Cup 2017.
Attackers
Julian Draxler - The 24-year-old German exploded onto the scene at Schalke. However, he opted to move to Wolfsburg after four successful seasons in Gelsenkirchen. His career stalled alarmingly with the Wolves and he eventually moved to PSG in 2017.
The German international played 117 games for Schalke and scored 18 goals. He was a part of the Bundesliga Team of the Season 2013-14 and also won the Young Player of the Year award in the same year.
The Royal Blues contacted PSG about the availability of Draxler in the recent transfer window and it would be interesting to see whether he will be open to joining his boyhood club in the near future after leaving the team on a bad note the last term.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - FC Schalke's record goalscorer in the UEFA competitions, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar joined the Royal Blues after having pretty average spells with Real Madrid and AC Milan.
Huntelaar played 175 games for the club and scored 82 goals. He was Bundesliga's top scorers for the 2011-12 season with 29 goals and managed to reach the double figures for goals for five seasons during his seven-year stay at the club.
At 35, Huntelaar is with his boyhood club, Ajax and is still scoring goals for fun at his age.
Leroy Sane - One of the most exciting young wingers in the world right now, Leroy Sane is a product of famous Schalke 04's youth academy and played 47 league games for the club between 2014 and 2016.
He joined Manchester City in 2016 and is a star performer for the Cityzens since then. He scored 10 goals along with 15 assists last season and was voted as the PFA Young Player of the Year.
Leroy Sane is playing some brilliant football under Pep Guardiola and is tipped to challenge for the Ballon d'Or award in the upcoming years.
