Kompany signs new City deal
Vincent Kompany signs new Manchester City contract
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By Darren Estwick. |  |
Monday, 19, Oct 2009 10:36
By Alistair Potter.
Manchester City midfielder Vincent Kompany has signed a new five-year contract to keep him at the club until at least 2014.
The Belgian international, who has been linked with a move to Barcelona in January, signed for the club from Hamburg in August 2008 for £6 million.
But Kompany has dismissed rumours he is set to leave Eastlands by putting pen to paper on an extended deal.
"There has been no speculation from my side because I have just signed the new deal but it is the kind of thing you have to get used to when you play for this club now," he explained.
"In the end you just don't pay attention to the speculation. City's ambitions are my ambitions and I want to be one of the main players in a very big team."
Although City missed the chance to go third in the Premier League on Sunday when they were held to a 1-1 draw at Wigan, Kompany - who played for the first time since May after coming on as a substitute - believes the team are "stepping in the right direction".
"We are looking upwards," he continued.
"We are as close as we ever been with our fans as a club, which is not always the way when so much money is spent.
"We have a nice way of playing football behind everything we are trying to achieve. It is a compliment to us that everyone wants to beat us."
City manager Mark Hughes also said he was delighted to have Kompany signed up for the next five years - and to have him back among the matchday squad after so long out injured.
"He has been desperate to get back into action and in fact we have had to hold him back a little since his operation in the summer - such was his desire to return to action," Hughes explained.
"But that is the kind of lad that he is. He is still only 23 years old but is so mature in his outlook; that is why I made him captain last season on occasions.
"He wants to improve, he is ambitious and he is desperate for success. He was one of our most reliable performers last season and it is great that we have been able to secure his services for the next five years."