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We've been hearing about an Arturo Vidal contract extension for months now. It wasn't a matter of if Juve's midfield dynamo would sign a new contract, it was simply a matter of when he would.
Now, on Dec. 2, that day has finally arrived. Vidal is officially going nowhere after signing a contract extension with Juventus through the 2016-17 season, the club announced.
From Juventus' official website:
Juventus Football Club is pleased to announce that Arturo Vidal has today put pen to paper on an extended contract which keeps him with the club until 2017.
Since joining from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2011, the midfielder's sensational performances have enabled him to become a firm fans' favourite and provided the driving force behind back-to-back Scudetto and Super Cup triumphs.
Vidal's influence on the side is clear for all to see. Across a total of 100 appearances in all competitions, he has struck on 32 occasions, becoming the most prolific player of Antonio Conte's era.
And after topping last season's club goalscoring charts with 15, he already has 10 to his name from 20 starts this time around.
Under Conte's stewardship, the Chilean has lived up to his billing as the complete modern midfielder. Defensively, nobody has made more tackles than him, while, along with his undisputed eye for goal, he has also contributed the most assists in the past two-and-a-half years.
Today's agreement marks the latest chapter in El Guerrero's Juventus career, a story the determined performer will strive to enrich by achieving the club's next principle target come May - a historic third consecutive Scudetto title.
And now, we can all exhale. It was something we all expected, but now that it's official, there's no more reason to worry about when exactly the announcement would come. It has, and that's some to be happy about.
With the signing of his new contract, Vidal will see a substantial pay raise to a reported €5.5 million a season — one of the highest salaries on the squad. It's pretty safe to say he's earned it in his 2 1/2 seasons with Juve thus far. He's been arguably Juve's best player over that time period and an incredibly key figure in back-to-back Serie A titles.
Guess what?
He isn't gong anywhere now.
in case Real Madrid or anybody else thought of maybe trying to woo King Arturo over the summer, think again. Vidal wants to be in Turin with Juventus and Juventus are more than happy to have him stay for as long as he wants.
grazie Juventini per tutto l'amore che mi avete dato dal primo giorno che sono arrivato a questa famiglia !!! pic.twitter.com/qIjGFKqhKE
— Arturo Vidal (@kingarturo23) December 3, 2013