Schalke will play in the German top flight next season after beating Fortuna Düsseldorf 1-0 on Saturday to secure promotion.
Kenan Karaman’s goal in the 15th minute – his 15th in the competition this season – put seven-time German champions Schalke on track to return to Bundesliga 2 after three seasons.
«We wanted this victory. We wanted to celebrate with our fans,» said the Schalke striker Edin Dzeko told Sky Germany.
The 40-year-old former Manchester City and Inter Milan striker has scored six goals and three assists in eight games since joining the club this winter.
“We’ll see,” Dzeko said when asked if he wanted to stay with the club in the top flight. “I am very happy that I made the decision to come here in January.
Schalke now has 67 points, 10 more than third-placed Hannover, which has three games to go.
The top two teams in the second division return to the top tier at the end of the season, while the third-placed team will face the third-last team in the Bundesliga in a two-legged play-off.
Schalke is already assured of a place in the top two and will be crowned champions of the second division should second-placed Paderborn fail to win at Elversberg on Sunday.
Schalke, one of Germany’s best-supported clubs, having reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2010-11, has fallen on hard times in recent seasons.
The club was relegated in last place at the end of the 2020–21 season, but immediately returned to the top as second division champions the following season.
But Schalke were relegated again at the end of the 2022-2023 season. Last season the club dangled just above the drop zone before finishing fourteenth.
Another fallen giant, Hamburg, returned to the top last season after seven seasons in Bundesliga 2 and are on course to stay on top this season.
Published on May 3, 2026
