Kiessling signs Leverkusen extension

Stefan Kiessling has signed a one-year contract extension at Bayer Leverkusen, while also agreeing a deal that will see him form part of the backroom staff upon his retirement.

The 32-year-old joined Leverkusen from Nurnberg in 2006 and has made 312 Bundesliga appearances for the club, scoring 126 goals.

Kiessling’s contract was set to expire at the end of next season, but he will now remain with the club until June 2018.

“I am very happy to continue at Leverkusen. I will give everything for this club, as before, and I set high goals. It remains my objective to win a title here,” Kiessling said in a statement.

The striker also agreed to remain at the club after hanging up his boots, in a capacity to be decided at a later date.

“Stefan Kiessling is an absolute role model that we wanted to keep strictly for us and our fans,” said managing director Michael Schade.

“That is why we have agreed that he will take over a function in the team after his professional career – what kind, we will see.

“For Stefan, always and at any time our door is open to him. He is simply part of Bayer.”

Leverkusen fans have also been boosted by Karim Bellarabi offering an assurance he will remain at the club next season, despite being the subject of interest from Premier League and La Liga clubs.

“It is true that I had interesting enquiries from the Premier League and also from Spain, but we have built something great in recent years, which I was able to personally contribute a lot to,” said Bellarabi.

“I believe that we are only at the beginning of a process. I have total faith in our coach, Roger Schmidt, and together with him and the team I want to take the next step.

“Therefore, I will definitely play for Bayer next season.”