Schalke 04 have denied that attacking midfielder Julian Draxler bid an emotional farewell to head coach Andre Breitenreiter on Friday.
Reports in Germany have suggested that Breitenreiter had tears in his eyes when shaking Draxler's hand as the player was substituted against Wolfsburg.
It is also claimed that the 21-year-old, linked with Wolfsburg in recent weeks, asked his Schalke teammates if the green and white shirt of their opponents suited him, something Schalke sporting director Horst Heldt has denied.
"Both Julian Draxler and Andre Breitenreiter were very surprised about these reports," Heldt told the club website. "Julian strongly denied that he said anything of the sort or anything that could be interpreted that way.
"For Andre, the handshake he gave Julian was just a normal gesture towards a player who is coming off. He didn't have tears in his eyes. All these rumours from the past few weeks were not on either of Julian's or Andre's mind in that situation."
Draxler has scored 30 goals and provided 29 assists in 170 games for Schalke since coming through the club's youth system.
Miles Jolliffe
