1. FC Köln have extended the contracts of two of their most productive players. German international Jonas Hector and Leonardo Bittencourt have both signed new deals that will keep them at the club until 2021.

Jonas Hector and Leonardo Bittencourt will remain as two of the key building blocks of 1. FC Köln going forward. Both players have extended their contracts and will remain FC players until 2021. FC General Manager Jörg Schmadtke revealed the details to the new deal at the Season Opening event at the RheinEnergieSTADION on Saturday.



“Jonas has made progressed tremendously as a player of FC. He began as a player in our U21 and through his determination he managed to establish himself as our starting player in the Bundesliga and even for the German national team. Most recently he showed some incredible performances at the UEFA Euro 2016 in France. Leo proved in his first year with us that he is a player with plenty of potential. The fact that both of them decided to extend their contracts at an early stage makes us very happy,” said FC Head Coach Peter Stöger.



Hector has featured in 132 competitive matches (4 goals) and his former deal was set to expire in 2018. For the German national team he has featured on 20 occasions (1 goal). Bittencourt arrived in Cologne last summer by way of Hannover 96 and featured in 30 matches in his first season with FC, scoring 3 goals in the process.



“I feel totally happy to be a part of this team and am comfortable here at FC,” said Jonas Hector. “Everything fits for me here so the contract extension was a logical step.”



Leonardo Bittencourt states: “In 1. FC Köln I found a club where I feel really well and it is a team with which I would like to achieve many things. I decided on the contract extension with complete conviction. I am very happy to be part of this extraordinary club for many years to come.”