1. FC Köln have extended the contract of Florian Kainz ahead of time. The Austrian international will, as a result, remain at FC until 2025. On this exact day four years ago, the attacking midfielder arrived in Köln from Werder Bremen.

FC Manging Director, Christian Keller said: “Florian is one of our most consistent players and one of the absolute key players in our team. He has backed up his form from the previous season as well. Four goals and five assists in 14 Bundesliga games speak for themselves, he’s our top scorer. Since his signing four years ago, he has continued to develop and is now one of the leaders off the pitch as well. He identifies 100% with FC and the path we want to go on.”

Florian Kainz said: “I am very pleased to have extended my contract at FC and am thankful for the trust which the club has given me. I want to take over more responsibility on and off the pitch in the future. I am convinced by the way we want to play football and believe that FC can be successful in the Bundesliga in the coming years.”

Florian Kainz made his FC debut on 31st January 2019 against 1. FC Union Berlin. Through the Rückrunde in the 2018-19 2. Bundesliga season, the Graz-born attacking midfielder made 14 appearances and recorded four assists to help FC return to the Bundesliga. Overall, the 30-year-old has made 134 Bundesliga appearances for FC and Werder Bremen (20 goals/25 assists). The sporting home of the Austrian international is Sturm Graz, where he made his debut and then moved on to Rapid Wien in 2014. At Austria’s record champions, his impressive performances in the league and Europa League played him into contention for the national team. Since 2015, Kainz has played 21 times for his country and was most recently nominated in November for the friendlies against Andorra and Italy. For FC, he has made 14 appearances in the current Bundesliga campaign. In the second leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off, he captained FC for the first time to secure a 3:0 win and progression to the group stages.