Ivanovic extends Chelsea stay

Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has signed a five-and-a-half year deal to remain at Stamford Bridge until 2016.

The Serbian international signed with the club when Avram Grant was in charge in 2008, before making his senior bow under Grant’s successor Luiz Felipe Scolari later that year.

Ivanovic is due to make his 100th appearance for the Blues when they clash with Fulham at Craven Cottage on Monday, but the 26-year-old has more significant milestones in mind, in particular team-oriented ones.

“It (the long-term deal) is good news for me, it is a very big step for me in my career and I want to give my maximum and try to help Chelsea win a lot more trophies,” Ivanovic said.

“These things take a little time but my first vision was always to stay with Chelsea, there were not a lot of problems because I wanted to stay, the club wanted me to stay and I want to thank everyone who helped with the deal, I am very happy with that.”

Ivanovic said the brace he scored against Liverpool in the 2008-2009 UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg was his greatest personal achievement at Chelsea.

“I don’t like to think too much about the past because in football you have to get better every day, concentrate on small details of every game,” he said.

“But from my side maybe the two goals against Liverpool gave me confidence, but all other things have been slowly developing and step-by-step, which is what I have to do in the future.”