Jérôme Boateng signed a long-awaited contract extension on Wednesday, adding three years to his current deal and keeping him at Bayern Munich until 2018.
"I’m delighted," said Boateng to the club website. "FC Bayern is one of the truly big clubs in world football. Playing here is not only something you enjoy, it’s an honour. I want to achieve a great deal as a member of this team over the next few years."
Since signing for €13.5 million from Manchester City, Boateng has assisted in two UEFA Champions League Final appearances, two DFB Pokal Finals appearances, and a Bundesliga trophy (as part of FC Bayern's treble). He is currently nominated as part of the FIFA/FIFPro World XI along with David Alaba, Dante, and Philipp Lahm.
Boateng's statistical performance is on an upward trend (the whiff against Manchester City notwithstanding). He is better than ever in the air (2.7 aerial duels won per game, more than double his career average) and is continuing his growth as a passer (9.7 long passes completed per game, four higher than his career average).
"Jérôme has made tremendous progress here with us and rates as an important player for Bayern," Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. "For this reason it’s only logical for us to pursue a contract extension. We’ve achieved that today, and we’re all very pleased."
With Alaba and Boateng getting their new deals, Daniel van Buyten, Toni Kroos, Arjen Robben, Claudio Pizarro and Rafinha are the only five players consistently on the team sheet whose deals end in the next 18 months. FC Bayern will also have to make decisions with youth players Lukas Raeder, Patrick Weihrauch and Mitchell Weiser over that period as well.
Boateng's and Alaba's extensions alludes to FC Bayern's desire to keep their own, and now the Rekordmeisters will have two quick, skillful defenders for the next four and a half years.