Schalke coach Felix Magath will leave the Bundesliga club only halfway into his four-year contract at the end of the season, German media said Wednesday.
The Westdeutsche Allgemeine newspaper and the DPA news agency said Schalke's board had decided to part ways with Magath.
There was no confirmation from the club and Magath said he was not aware of the decision.
''No one has spoken with me, I know nothing. I expect to fulfill my contract until 2013,'' Magath told the online edition of Kicker magazine.
The reports came only hours before Schalke's Champions League match against Valencia for a place in the quarterfinals. The two teams are level at 1-1 after the first leg of their last-16 match.
Both reports said the decision to release Magath would stand even if the club qualifies for the Champions League quarterfinals.
Magath went to Schalke after leading Wolfsburg to the 2009 Bundesliga title in a shock win. His brief was to capture the title with Schalke, which hasn't won it in five decades.
In his first season, Magath took Schalke to second place and a direct slot into the Champions League. His second season got off to a difficult start, though, after signing 14 players and releasing several veterans. One new signing has been a success, former Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez.
But many other moves by Magath have raised questions and his bloated squad has failed to find the right chemistry.
The team has been plagued by inconsistency all season to be 10th in the Bundesliga, only five points above the relegation zone. But Schalke is in the German Cup final after winning 1-0 at Bayern Munich and will faces second-division club Duisburg.
Magath's relationship with the influential fan groups has deteriorated, with many calling for his dismissal even after the victory over Bayern. The club's board has also distanced itself from Magath in recent weeks.
Magath told Wednesday's edition of Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper that the criticism was wearing him out.
''When you come under criticism so much, you get lonely,'' he said.
If confirmed, Magath's departure would be the third mooted coaching change in the Bundesliga in three days.
Bayern announced Monday that Louis van Gaal will go at the end of the season, and Armin Veh said Tuesday he'll leave Hamburger SV.
