First transfer perfect! This striker becomes a billy goat

Newsblog for 1. FC Cologne

First summer transfer perfect: The 1. FC Köln fetches this striker

The 1. FC Köln is the football club from the cathedral city. In the New sticker on T-Online you will find all the important messages about the “billy goats”.

The 1. FC Köln has signed Ragnar Ache from 1. FC Kaiserslautern. The center forwarder signs a contract until 2029. The billy goats announced this on Tuesday evening. The flush bowls were able to hire the 26-year-old due to an exit clause. This is said to have been around four million euros.

“Already in the first conversations with Ragnar I had the feeling that he fits the 1. FC Köln very well in terms of sport and human,” said FC sports director Thomas Kessler. “He is not only a really good striker, but also a guy who will quickly integrate into our team and improve our offensive with its quality in the top. For our squad planning, the occupation of this position was a central goal – I am all the more pleased that we were able to successfully complete the transfer.”

Three and a half years after his last coaching station, Peter Stöger will be back on the sidelines from the coming season. The former coach of the 1st FC Köln takes over Rapid Vienna. There, the Viennese native signed a contract by the summer of 2027.

The ex-FC coach had already run for Rapid as a player between 1995 and 1998 before playing for the city rival Austria Vienna and also celebrating great success as a coach. So now the return to the green-whites. “I am very pleased that I can perform this responsible task. I am convinced that we have a squad of great quality, and the academy, including the second team, has many players with potential for higher tasks,” said Stöger.

The 1. FC Köln is fighting for a late compensation: If Florian Wirtz from Bayer 04 Leverkusen switches to Liverpool FC, the “billy goats” will be up to 7.5 million euros. According to the FIFA regulations, a total of five percent of the total transfer amount are divided into the clubs, in which the player was under contract between the ages of 12 and 23. At Wirtz this would be FC and Bayer. In the case of the rumored transfer fee of a total of 150 million euros, it is no less than 7.5 million euros.

The FC wants to fully collect this sum, do not share it with the rival. According to information from the “Geissblog”, the FC therefore checks to what extent the FIFA regulations only refer to the five percent to training associations or all clubs. As is well known, Leverkusen immediately gave Wirtz a professional contract in January 2020 and already used in the Bundesliga in the second half of 2020/21. Should FIFA still recognize the Leverkuseners as a training club, Bayer would even be entitled to the larger sum of the 7.5 million euros – around 4.5 million euros.

Mathias Olesen is leaving the 1st FC Köln this summer after six years. However, the midfielder has not yet found a new club. There is also one of the reasons why the Luxembourg is probably foregoing the upcoming caps with his national team.

At least that explained Luxembourg’s national coach Luc Holtz. “You can recommend yourself in the encounters, but there is also a risk of injury. A player said that he does not want to play if he has not signed a contract until then. He is afraid to injure himself.” A little later, Holtz explained that the player mentioned was Olesen.

The midfielder has already played 30 caps and is actually part of Holtz’s regular staff. In June, however, only two other international matches (against Ireland and Slovenia) will be added if Oleses should have found a new club until then.