Schalke sporting executive Horst Heldt has offered an explanation as to why the club have spent more money on agent fees over the last two transfer windows than any other in the Bundesliga.
Figures released by the German Football League on Monday showed that the Royal Blues, who currently sit seventh in the Bundesliga, spent a total of €16.9 million in fees -- more than Bayern Munich's €16.7m, Borussia Dortmund's €15.8m and Wolfsburg's €12.9m.
"You could say that we finally top a table," Heldt joked to Der Westen, before explaining that agent fees for contract extensions and when selling players are taken into account as well as for incoming transfers.
Schalke last summer sold Julian Draxler to Wolfsburg for a reported fee of €36m and also cashed in on Jefferson Farfan, who left for Al-Jazeera, and Kyriakos Papadopoulos, who joined Bayer Leverkusen.
According to Bild, Schalke paid between €8m and €9m for those three moves away from the Veltins-Arena.
"We had extraordinary income and thus also extraordinary additional expenditure," Heldt told Bild.
Schalke also terminated Kevin-Prince Boateng's contract in December, allowing the former Ghana international to join AC Milan on a free transfer.
"The table gives a wrong impression," Heldt told Der Westen. "We had about €50m in transfer income. But you also have to cede money from it. With every transfer somebody else also earns money."