Dame N'Doye to leave F.C. Copenhagen

F.C. Copenhagen striker Dame N'Doye will leave the club after failing to agree a new contract.
 
It means the iconic forward has played his last game in an FCK shirt.

N'Doye, 35, has represented the Lions on two separate stints. He has played 218 games and boasts 118 goals for the club. In the past year, however, he has been hit by serious injuries.

"N'Doye is without a doubt the best striker in the history of the club and the Superliga, and he writes himself in the history books as one of the greatest ever at FCK. There can be no two opinions about that," says manager Ståle Solbakken.

"We also had a desire to keep him in the club for another year despite his serious injuries, but he has declined the offer of the contract extension we had presented. We offered both a short-term deal so he could play against Basaksehir and also an extension until next summer.

"It is clear that the serious injuries and his age have meant that we have had to be responsible in relation to the finances of the contract, but we stretched ourselves as far as we possibly could in the current situation and we have made two good and fair deals, we believe.
 
"We are sad that we have not been able to reach an agreement, but we have been through a lot together and we part as friends with lots of respect for each other.

"There were some who questioned us when we brought N'Doye back to FCK a few years ago, but he has shown that he is a player at a highest international level when he is injury free. At the same time he is a leader by virtue of his strength and mentality, and we will miss him at the club, but the door will always be open for him."

Ståle and the coaching staff will now evaluate the attacking situation in the squad.

"Now that we won't have N'Doye among the forward options, we now have a situation where the likes of Jonas Wind, Michael Santos and Mikkel Kaufmann can play as pure strikers, while Mohamed Daramy and Viktor Fischer can also play in forward positions," he said.
 
"We must now analyse how that formation can work, and whether we need to adjust further there."