Ibisevic recently joined Schalke from Bundesliga rival Hertha Berlin on a one-year contract.The 36-year-old says he will get a source of income only through bonuses.
“I’m here to make money, but I still have to play in the Bundesliga,” Ibisevic told Schalke’s website.”So we agreed that I wouldn’t get a base salary, just what I want to cover the insurance.My base salary will be donated to charities.” I’ll only play for bonuses.”
“It’s a normal story and shows how much Vedad needs to play for Schalke,” said the club’s sporting director, Jochen Schneider.
Video: Vedad Ibisevic hits the top
Ibisevic is used to giving back. In 2016, he donated 50,000 euros to projects to help the integration of refugees in Germany, a broader cause close to his heart.
More than two decades ago, Ibisevic escaped the brutality of the Bosnian civil war and, after fleeing to Switzerland, granted him asylum in St. Louis, USA, where his football career took off.
He returned to Europe after two prolific seasons with St. Louis.Louis and Chicago (39 goals in 46 games) for Paris Saint-German and Dijon in France, before placing their vocation on German soil.
Since scoring six goals for Alemannia Aachen in his first Bundesliga crusade in 2006/07, Bosnia and Herzegovina has played for Hoffenheim, VfB Stuttgart and Hertha, generating 127 goals and assists in 340 high-level matches.
Ibisevic, who will wear the number 11 jersey at Schalke, can make his competitive debut with the Royal Blues in the first circular of the DFB Cup on September 13.
The 2020/21 crusade represents his fifteenth in the Bundesliga and begins with a home game opposed to Bayern Munich, which holds the record.
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