Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho has signed a new deal at the Etihad, extending his contract with the Citizens till 2020. The 32-year-old has been in outstanding form this season, making 30 appearances in all competitions as City made a record-breaking start to the campaign.
Fernandinho made his way to City in 2013 having spent more than six years with Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk. He had a wonderful start to his campaign at City, playing 46 games and winning the Premier League title and League Cup in his first season at the Club.
Since then, despite not having had the success, he has picked up another piece of silverware in the form of a second League Cup where he scored in the final against Liverpool at Wembley in 2016. He also played a key part in leading the Citizens to the semi-finals of the Champions League in the same year, the Club's best performance in the competition to date.
Thus far, he has played 212 times for City in all competitions, scoring 19 goals in the process. He is on his way to pick up his second Premier League medal this season, with City overwhelming favourites to clinch the title, currently holding a 12 point lead over their nearest rivals Manchester United.
"This is a Club with a fantastic future and I want to be a part of it for as long as possible," he told City's official website. "With Pep in charge, I feel sure we can win significant silverware and, importantly, we will try to do it playing attractive, attacking football. It's a pleasure to be a part of this Club and I look forward to seeing what the next few years bring."
City's Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain, added: "We're delighted Ferna has signed his new contract. He is a senior member of the squad and his professionalism and work ethic are second to none. His form has been fantastic this season and we're happy he's extended his deal for a further two years."
Meanwhile, manager Pep Guardiola hit out at detractors for focusing on the money they have spent when other clubs have splurged the same but, have not managed to bring in the quantity of players they have. The Spaniard is keen to strengthen his squad further with three or four players but is willing to wait till the summer to locate his targets.
"We decide players on how they can improve the squad. We can still improve. We saw it last Sunday [in a 4-3 defeat to Liverpool]," he told a press conference, as quoted by Four Four Two. "We need to anticipate it now. We feel we need to invest in the summer, with three or four. If we do it now, we do it for the summer.
"When Man United, Liverpool and the other clubs in Europe do what they do, I respect. I never say anything because they know the reality. It's true when Manchester City and Abu Dhabi took over the team, in that period they spent a lot.
"But the most expensive player is Kevin De Bruyne and when you see now the reality, a lot of clubs spend much more for one or two players. We did the same for the amount of money for four, five or six players. In the end what we spent in the summer is quite similar to United, but they bought I think two or three players and we bought six or seven."
