They exist, these players who suddenly rise like a phoenix from the ashes, rise to world-class status for a moment and then disappear into obscurity. In our “Inexplicable Flights” format, we have been devoting ourselves to these “Phantom” stars for a few weeks now. Today, it’s the turn of a former DFB kicker. FC Schalke 04 fans in particular will remember him all too well.
Max Meyer’s career started off promisingly. Trained at Knappenschmiede under the direction of Norbert Elgert, Schalke’s youth icon, the playmaker earned his first minutes in the Champions League with the professionals in the spring of 2013, at the age of 17. In the summer, the now 29-year-old player truly made his debut with the professional team. Schalke’s new number seven (formerly Rául) immediately became a regular and even caught the eye of Jogi Löw. The debut for the German national team took place in May 2014.
Maja Hitij – 2017 Getty Images
“I can’t imagine anything better. Being able to play for this team and with these players is a huge honor for me and I’m proud to be able to be involved, » Meyer, then 18, told the club’s internal website. Anyone can make their debut , thought Meyer, who immediately scored his first goal in his second international match against Finland (2-0). Even if it was ultimately not enough to reach the World Cup, the 1.73 m technician. continued to play a key role at Schalke It was only in 2017 that Meyer’s meteoric fortunes through contract poker gradually came to an abrupt end.
Contract negotiations took place for the 22-year-old this winter. The problem, however, was that Meyer’s advisor had very specific ideas. According to Roger Wittmann, Max Meyer was already a “world-class player” at the time (source: “Welt”). The players and advisors therefore demanded from the club a salary higher than the 5.5 million euros proposed annually. A mud fight broke out between the club, represented by Christian Heidel, then manager of S04, and Meyer.
After numerous mutual accusations, the offensive talent was suspended in the spring of 2018 and his contract expired. Would this still have consequences?
Unfortunately, from a player perspective, yes. Because: even if Meyer’s agent was able to direct him towards a Premier League club, the ex-squire never really arrived in England. After a solid first season in the Crystal Palace shirt (29 PL games), he spent a lot of time inspecting the stands at Selhurst Park from the second year onwards. Years later, the former national player still views his time at the « Eagles » positively: « In the end, I learned a lot at Crystal Palace, » he emphasized after recently signing with the 1. FC Köln in February. 2021.
At FC, however, the former midfield gem was unable to present much of what he had learned. After a six-month interlude, we continued through Europe. In 2024, Max Meyer is now playing far from the Bundesliga and world class. His professional reality is now called APOEL Nicosia. Sad but true: as of April 2018, Meyer was once worth 20 million euros. His current club has a total squad value of 14.85 million euros (source: ‘(Site notre blog d’information).de’).