Manchester City left-back Aleksandar Kolarov has signed a two-year contract extension until 2018.
The Serbian, who joined the blues from Lazio for £16m in 2010, had just one year remaining on his previous deal. The 28-year-old made 30 appearances in Manchester City's title winning season and established himself as Manuel Pellegrini's first choice left-back over Gaël Clichy.
"I am very happy and very proud of this new contract," Kolarov told the club's website.
"I will give to this club probably the best stages of my football career. I am very happy that I continue with this club which feels now like my home."
In an interview with the Mirror, Joe Hart insisted that Manuel Pellegrini's decision to drop him at the start of the season made him stronger.
(Joe Hart and England kick off their World Cup campaign tomorrow night)
"Goalkeeper is a position that requires mental strength,’’ said Hart, who was replaced by Costel Pantilimon for eight weeks in the run-up to Christmas after a series of high-profile gaffes.
"If you don’t have it, you’ll get trampled to the wayside. It’s a position where you need to be strong and focused.
"I’m really lucky that I’m doing something that I love. I’m never going to give up at this game, no matter what happens.
"I always work hard and give my best. Sometimes my best isn’t good enough. Sometimes all of our best isn’t good enough. That’s life.
"But I got my head down, respected peoples’ opinions, worked hard to get back into the team. I’m better for coming through that period of adversity.’’
In Other News
In other news, Manchester City have announced a new club partnership with state-owned insurance company Jiwasraya.
(The deal is scheduled to run for two years)
The new deal, announced on Tuesday, sees Jiwasraya become City’s official insurance partner in Indonesia.
Established in 1859, Jiwasraya is one of Indonesia’s largest insurance companies, also specialising in financial planning.
As part of the deal, Jiwasraya has the rights to produce television advertisements with Manchester City stars, in addition to featuring the club crest and player imagery in marketing campaigns throughout Indonesia.