FC Köln, Tianjin negotiate Modeste's contract

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FC Köln from 2. Bundesliga and Tianjin Tianhai (former Tianjin Quanjian) from the Chinese Football Association Super League (CSL) are negotiating how to deal with the contract of French striker Anthony Modeste, reported Tencent Sports on Thursday.

"We are now negotiating with the management members of Tianjin Tianhai to find out a solution (to the problem with the contract of Modeste) as soon as possible and we hope to find it within one or two weeks," said Alexander Wehrle, CEO of FC Köln, in an interview.

French striker Anthony Modeste playing for Tianjin Tianhai (formerly known as Tianjin Quanjian) in the CSL. /VCG Photo

Modeste joined Tianhai in July 2017 but in only one year he departed the Chinese club to go AWOL unilaterally. Though FC Köln took him in, his contract with Tianhai still existed, which made it impossible for him to play for the German club in the second-division soccer league in Germany.

At the end of 2018, Modeste sued Tianhai to cancel his contract with the club before Tianhai made a countersuit. In the end, FIFA ruled that Tianhai had to pay Modeste his salary while the player "had no good reason" to terminate his contract with the Chinese club.

There could be two reasons behind the latest reaching out by FC Köln to Tianhai. First, the transfer window of the soccer player market in Germany will be closed by the end of January. If Modeste fails to receive permission to play by then, he will not be able to play for the club this season.

Training base of Tianjin Tianhai. /VCG Photo

Second, Tianhai is currently going through a difficult time as their former funder Quanjian, a healthcare products company, is under investigation. In the past few years, the club spent over 324 million U.S. dollars improving the franchise thanks to the support of the company. Now that Quanjian is in trouble, the club had to change its name and was in the care of the Tianjin Football Association.

However, the operation cost of the club, including the tremendous salaries of their coaches, players and working staff, is way more than what the Tianjin FA can bear. Tianhai must find a local funder to remain in the CSL. In a situation like this, the club understandably would not want extra trouble and that could be what FC Köln is after.