Mascarell wants to stay at Schalke: "I consider it my responsibility as captain"
In an interview with Spanish daily sporting newspaper "Marca", Schalke's Omar Mascarell emphatically stated that he did not wish to leave the club.
The ongoing reports linking current FC Schalke 04 captain Omar Mascarell with Spanish side FC Valencia may be over before talks even officially begin. In a Wednesday interview with a Spanish daily, the player himself put to rest the rumors that he wished to return to his homeland. In point of fact, the captain wants to remain in Gelsenkirchen.
"If the club shows me the door, I will have to leave," Mascarell acknowledged in an interview with "Marca". He also noted "any interest [from another club] can be considered a compliment. Having made these statements, he emphasized that a move wasn't on his mind.
"My wish is to remain here and help out Schalke," he noted, "I consider it my responsibility, especially as captain. I'm not one of those to abandon ship when things get rough. I wish to fight on to see this situation out."
Mascarell inherited the captain's armband a little over a year ago. After it was revealed that keeper Alexander Nübel had agreed to transfer to Bayern München in the Summer, then head-coach selected him as the squad's new leader. Sead Kolasinac's return to the club, and alternate captaincy in Mascarell's absence on Saturday, have led to calls to make the Bosnian the official team skipper.
The 27-year-old Spaniards stated desire to remain with the relegation threatened side should, at the very least, make such a switch problematic.
"The club knows that I want to stay and make my contribution," Mascarell told the newspaper.