Official: Fiorentina sell 39-year-old Dzeko to Schalke

Fiorentina have officially confirmed that 39-year-old striker Edin Dzeko has left the club to join 2.Bundesliga outfit Schalke on a permanent contract. 

Dzeko joined Fiorentina on a free transfer over the summer after the expiry of his deal with Fenerbahce. He signed an initial one-year contract with the Viola with an option to extend for a further 12 months. 

Fiorentina and Dzeko have agreed to terminate that agreement ahead of schedule, which allows Dzeko to return to Germany for the first time in 15 years. He will be tasked with helping Schalke towards promotion from the German second tier. 

Schalke are currently top of the 2. Bundesliga table, four points clear of second-placed SV Elversberg with 16 games to go. 

The Bosnian made 18 appearances for Fiorentina across all competitions before his move to Schalke. 11 of those came in Serie A, nine of which came off the substitutes’ bench. He made a further five appearances in the Conference League and became the oldest scorer in the competition’s history when he found the net against Rapid Vienna in October. 

Turning 40 in March, Dzeko is highly unlikely to return to Serie A before calling it a day on his playing career. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international has turned out for three Italian sides in his career with Roma, Inter and Fiorentina.