– But still: Fabian Frei moves to Winterthur
The captain leaves the club after 534 games for FC Basel: Fabian Frei joins FC Winterthur on deadline day.
Published today at 16:22
Jubilation after the 2-0 home victory over Yverdon on August 25, 2024: Did Fabian Frei already suspect that it would be his last competitive appearance for FC Basel?
Foto: Marc Schumacher (Freshfocus).
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Now it has finally become a fact: Fabian Frei is leaving FC Basel and is moving to FC Winterthur with immediate effect, where he has signed a one-year contract with an option for an additional season.
While official confirmation is still missing, reliable sources from Basel and Winterthur confirmed to this newspaper a corresponding story that the “BZ Basel” published on Monday afternoon.
The transfer is not really a surprise: Last Wednesday, the BaZ reported on – until then fruitless – negotiations between Fabian Frei, his agent Gaëtano Giallanza and the officials at FC Winterthur (read here). However, it seemed at the time as if the matter was off the table, especially since the Zurich Oberland team wanted to bring in the veteran to strengthen the defense and eventually signed another central defender.
After Frei played for the Red and Blues again on Friday in the 0-6 friendly match against SC Freiburg, the talks are said to have continued again over the weekend and gained new momentum: Those responsible at FC Basel terminated Frei’s contract, which ran until summer 2025, in such a way that the conditions for the player to move to Winterthur at a lower salary than before were suitable.
FC Basel is thus losing one of the greatest players in its club history. The 35-year-old from Thurgau is the clear FCB record player with 534 competitive appearances and has also worn the captain’s armband since summer 2022. Always unchallenged until the end of last season, but lost sporting importance at the beginning of this season: after the opening defeat in Lausanne (2:3), he was never in the starting eleven again, but only made partial appearances.
Update follows …
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Oliver Good has been writing for the sports department of the Basler Zeitung since March 2001, which he has headed since 2019. Previously responsible for various sports, the Fricktal native has been concentrating on football since 2011 – and thus mainly on FC Basel. More info
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