Captain Kompany extends Man City stay

The Belgium international was imperious in the heart of the City defence as they secured their first title in 44 years.

Kompany arrived in 2008 from Hamburg during Mark Hughes' tenure as manager and has gone on to become one of the game's more established centre-backs.

The 26-year-old has now signalled his intention to remain at the Etihad Stadium after signing a new deal that will run until 2018.

"For me if you are good somewhere then there is no reason to look elsewhere," he told the club's official website.

"Man City as a project is not just a project of the owners or the people employed by the club; it is also my project.

"I have been here since the beginning and I have seen everything at the club change inside and out.

"I have the feeling that I have contributed to it too. It is good to know that I can be at City for another six years. It is a compliment that the club feels so highly of me.

"Hopefully in the future I will have a bigger impact than I already have. I am good here. The fans have given me an incredible reception, which is one of the main reasons that I signed this new deal.

"My family is happy and there are so many more trophies to win at this club that is why it makes it so special.

"I take it with great pride that I have been chosen to be captain and lead this team. Especially in England, more than other competitions, being the captain has got a lot more responsibility involved with it.

"I thrive on responsibility the more I get the more I perform. I am at the right club because I have built something here already."

He continued: "I have never denied that this can sometimes be the hardest team in the league of which to be captain, but like I said I am all about responsibility and challenge.

"This Man City project was probably one of the most difficult projects in Europe to be part of and so far we have all done a good job even though a lot of people said it wasn't going to happen so quickly.

"I like the kind of characters that we have in our team. I like the challenges we have ahead of us. Now is the time to build the culture of winning we are in the right time; we are in the right moment.

"We have laid the foundations and now we want to win more. If we do that then we can be one of the most successful clubs for a long time to come and that is the aim.

"I can't wait to get started again. I am really excited about the season ahead."

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Nick Moore

Nick Moore is a freelance journalist based on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. He wrote his first FourFourTwo feature in 2001 about Gerard Houllier's cup-treble-winning Liverpool side, and has continued to ink his witty words for the mag ever since. Nick has produced FFT's 'Ask A Silly Question' interview for 16 years, once getting Peter Crouch to confess that he dreams about being a dwarf.