Ivan Perisic has extended his contract with Inter Milan until 2022, further affirming his commitment to the Serie A club despite links with a move to Manchester United during the summer.
The Croatia winger, who joined Inter from Wolfsburg in 2015, already had a contract through to 2020.
He told Inter’s official website: “It’s a special day for me, an emotional and happy one after the stress of the summer. Now we are all looking forward and I’m only thinking about Inter.
“For a long time I kept my counsel, and now I can say that [head coach Luciano] Spalletti told me that I could be an even better version of myself here.
“We’ve done well in the first two matches of the season and we need to continue that way.”
Last season, the midfielder garnered 10 assists – more than any other player in Italy.
No wonder Jose Mourinho was seriously after his services.
However, his decision to extend that deal comes after Spalletti said the 28-year-old is one of the key members of his squad.
“We were quite clear with him and the club did well too to find the right arguments to convince him to stay,” Spalletti told La Gazzetta. “He was told that nobody else would be leaving and so he stopped this little stand-off with the club, which is normal when it comes to big players.
“Ivan is an impressive sportsman. He is one of those who puts the team first. He loves moving all the way up and down the touchline and he was decisive there in our game at Roma, but if he can learn to stay about five metres inside the line from time to time, then he can become devastating in the area just behind [Mauro] Icardi.”
