The announcement coincides with Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Germany, Russia's main trade partner in Europe. Gazprom plays a key role in Russia and Germany's energy cooperation, in particular through the Nord Stream pipeline between the countries (the North European Gas Pipeline), which it manages.
Vedomosti, citing Germany's leading soccer magazine Kicker, said Gazprom, which already owns a controlling stake in Russia's Zenit St. Petersburg soccer club, is about to enter a 100 million euro (about $126 million) contract with Schalke 04 until 2012, in a bid to promote the company's image in Europe.
Neither the natural gas monopoly nor Schalke 04 commented on the possible deal, but a source close to Gazprom confirmed that the club from Gelsenkirchen could sign a contract matching ambitions of Bayern Munich, which receives 20 million euro ($25.2 million) a year in sponsorship from Deutsche Telekom.
The press service for Zenit St. Petersburg, a Russian first division club with Champions League ambitions, said earlier that the club would sign a partnership agreement with Schalke 04 on Tuesday.
German Tkachenko, the president of the ProSport consulting company, said Schalke 04 would be a good 'showcase' for Gazprom in Germany, where the company sold about 42-44 billion cu m of natural gas last year.
Schalke 04 was founded in 1904 in Gelsenkirkichen, and is based in the industrial Ruhr valley. It won seven German championships between 1933 and 1942 and was the winner of the 1997 UEFA Cup.
