Kostic speaks on transfer matter: "I was mentally unable to perform."
In his first public words since the theatrics of last weekend's transfer saga, Serbian winger Filip Kostic posted an appeal to Eintracht Frankfurt fans on his instagram profile.
According to Filip Kostic's initial comments since his withdraw from the squad last weekend, the Serbian winger has denied that he went "on strike". The 28-year-old winger instead chalked up his absence to the stress associated with a possible transfer.
"I love Eintracht Frankfurt and remain grateful for all that I have here. Against Bielefeld, I found myself mentally unable to perform. That was not a strike! I would like sincerely apologize to the fans who were misinformed and thank my teammates for their support. Some people owe me an apology, but we don't have time to deal with that now as we've a challenging season ahead of us. I remain mentally strong and will continue to fight for the club because the team needs me. Eintracht above all!"
The SGE's head-coach, sporting director, and team captain all tendered an olive branch towards Kostic shortly before the transfer deadline closed eight days ago. There have been reports of specific sanctions for the player's behavior, with nothing being officially confirmed yet.