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Alex Schwolow: Why I had to leave Hearts and why I will always feel the pain German goalkeeper explains the process of his Edinburgh exit Alexander Schwolow today detailed the process of his Hearts departure and the emotions it triggered as he prepares to bid farewell to Tynecastle Park. Tuesday’s Champions League return leg against Sturm Graz will be the German goalkeeper’s final match before he heads home to join Mainz 05. He insisted he did not want to leave for sporting reasons but must do the right thing for his family. Schwolow’s children have not settled in Scotland and for that reason he asked Hearts sporting director Graeme Jones for a way out of his two-year contract. “It was very hard to make that decision and it took very long. I informed the club that we have problems with the family in March, I think, so it took a while and we've tried a long time,” explained the 34-year-old. “It's not like it came up out of nowhere. I think that's why Graeme also understood my situation, so we really tried to make it work because I was enjoying it obviously a lot, it was one of the best seasons I've had in my life, the most enjoyable season I've had in my life. “I was loving the different mentality here, so it was so refreshing for me coming from Germany to a new environment and you had different patterns, different humour, so it was so refreshing and I loved it and I would have loved to continue. I'm 34 years old now and I'm not only a football player. I am a husband and a father. “I would have wished to stay here, it's just you feel how your family changes in a negative way and then you have to make a decision or try to get in talks with the club to find a solution because you just feel that you're harming them. They have always been there for me my whole life, travelled around with me through Germany and it has never been easy for them. Especially now, abroad, it has not been easy and I'm very grateful for the understanding, especially from Graeme, that we could find a solution there.” Schwolow recalled the phonecall with Jones which kickstarted his Hearts exit. “It was very emotional. I actually called him, I didn't go to the office,” he stated. “It was very emotional for me to be honest, because I thought about that decision to talk to him for a long time. Like I said, it has been a process with my family not being happy here, so it was not an easy call to make to speak with Graeme, but it just needed to be done from my side, just to protect my family and the health of my family. “He was very understanding. I don't want to go into too much detail, because it's been a conversation between us. He said he would try to find a solution, but obviously they needed a new goalkeeper to bring in. I said ‘yeah, of course,’ and I was totally on his side. That's why we also made the agreement in the end with my new club that I stay would here as long as needed to give Hearts the chance to bring in a new No.1.” That player is the Dutchman Beau Reus, who will step into Schwolow’s place after the Sturm match. Reus is likely to be in goal for Hearts against Aberdeen in Saturday’s Premiership opener. “I think he's a very good goalkeeper, so I think he's a very good signing,” opined Schwolow. “I just saw good things from him in training, so I'm really looking forward to seeing him play. I think it's very promising.” The German offered a huge thank you to Hearts fans and said he would forever share their devastation after May’s dramatic title loss against Celtic. “Just ‘thank you’ for all the support. You made it so easy for me to come in when I joined Hearts, I already felt the support in the first games,” he told supporters. “Some players can just play and what comes from the outside doesn't bother them so much, but I'm an empathic guy and I feel what comes from the crowd. “Even if someone talks to me I hear it and I appreciate it. There was so much support over that whole year. It was unreal actually. When you went to the supermarket, a lot of people came up to you and just shook your hand and said ‘thank you’. I will never forget this time, this year, and I will always feel the pain like the fans will do, so we will always be connected with that one.”