The transfer of Anthony Modeste from 1. FC Köln to Borussia Dortmund is as good as done. The top scorer will probably waive a special contractual clause for this.
Christian Keller, managing director of 1. FC Köln, has let it be known that Anthony Modeste will not be given a written guarantee of continued employment after the end of his career in exchange for his move to Bundesliga competitor Borussia Dortmund.
In the past few days, several media had reported unanimously that the 34-year-old striker had a five-year contract as a youth coach in Cologne for the period after his actual contract expired in 2023. “I’ve also heard a lot about the affiliation contract,” Keller told the dpa news agency before adding meaningfully: “It looks a bit different afterwards when you’ve read what’s in it.”
Keller doesn’t rule out Modeste’s return
It is quite possible that the follow-up agreement circulating in the media would only apply if Modeste stayed in Cologne until the end of the contract, which was fixed in writing in summer 2023. According to Keller, the doors of the Geißbockheim are not completely closed to the Frenchman, despite the approaching farewell to Dortmund. After all, Modeste is “an identity figure for 1. FC Köln, and if he wants to come back to FC at some point, then we’ll definitely think about it.”
Meanwhile, Keller has little understanding of Modeste’s decision. “You have to ask him why he really wants to do that,” said the Cologne boss after the 3-1 win in the Bundesliga opener against FC Schalke 04, where Modeste was no longer part of the squad for a short time: “But he can do champions League play. And he certainly earns at least no less than at FC.”