Ailton ready to join Besiktas
Controversial striker Ailton is ready to end his spell with Schalke.
Schalke 04's controversial Brazilian Ailton is ready to end his spell with the Royal Blues after only 12 months and will sign for Turkish outfit Besiktas, the striker confirmed.The clubs have already agreed on a transfer fee of ‚é¼3.5 million for the former Werder Bremen star and Ailton has now made it clear that he sees his future in Istanbul.
‚Ç£If it's good business for all parties, why shouldn't I agree? I have to think about my future,‚Ç¥ declared Ailton when leaving Schalke's pre-season training camp in Austria in order to travel to Turkey for the medical check-up on Wednesday, where he is set to sign a two-year contract.
Ailton won the Bundesliga's Golden Boot in 2003-04 when his goals helped Werder Bremen to the German double, but never really settled at Schalke since joining the Ruhr Valley giants on a free transfer last summer.
Despite a lucrative contract with the Royal Blues until 2006, the 32-year-old hardly missed a chance to stress that he would like to leave the Veltins-Arena as quickly as possible and Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick seems relieved to part company with the Brazilian.
Rangnick, who had clashed with the moody forward on numerous occasions, felt that Ailton's presence did unsettle the team spirit.
‚Ç£All those stories that only dealt with one person [Ailton] began to get on the nerves of the squad,‚Ç¥ insisted the former Stuttgart and Hannover boss, who led the Royal Blues into the UEFA Champions League after finishing runners-up to Bayern Munich last season.
