Schalke have warned sought-after youngster Donis Avdijaj that he faces punishment after crashing his 160,000-euro Mercedes in what was reported to be an illegal road race.
Avdijaj, who scored 44 goals for Schalke's under-17s in the 2012-13 season, has been hailed as one of the finest talents to come from the club's Knappenschmiede academy.
But the 18-year-old -- who recently opted to play for Albania rather than continue in Germany's youth teams -- has yet to make his Bundesliga debut after struggling to impress for Schalke's under-23s.
Avdijaj crashed his car in what German tabloid Bild claimed was an illegal car race.
And Schalke sporting director Horst Held said: "We must wait for the police report, but should it [the report of an illegal race] prove true, he will face consequences. We were not amused that this happened."
Earlier this year, Schalke gave Avdijaj a contract that lasts until 2019 and includes a 49 million-euro release clause.
Heldt faced criticism for putting the release clause in Avdijaj's contract and then making it public, with German football magazine kicker accusing Schalke of "premature hype which nearly inevitably led to sporting demise."
Local newspaper Der Westen said that, given the release clause, it was "no surprise that immature wannabe stars prematurely think that they are giants."
But Heldt said Schalke had included the clause to stave off interest from the Premier League, explaining: "At that time there were enquires, for instance from Liverpool, and it can get difficult once an English club gets involved.
"We wanted to make a statement that there is no way to get hold of Donis."
