(Football news) Borussia Dortmund who are close to securing their first Bundesliga title in 10 years have extended the contract of Mats Hummels as he signs a new one year deal keeping him at the club till at least 2024. The veteran centre-back spent a long time weighing up different options but with the possibility of another title, the club vice captain has finally decided to stay on with the Black and Yellows.

Hummels first joined Borussia Dortmund in 2009 before he joined Bayern Munich in 2016 and he returned three years later. He has established himself as a real leader in the team over the years as only club director Michael Zorc (572) has made more appearances for BVB than Hummels (467). Hummels has played a very crucial role in Borussia Dortmund’s title charge this season especially after the World Cup as he has shown the club hierachy that he is still more than capable of playing at the very highest level.

The former German international who recently turned 34 years old was one of the team’s top performers in the first half of the season. He was the only positive during their disastrous first half of the season but he has been the most reliable defender whenever called upon after the World Cup. Hummels has won the Bundesliga title five times in his career, and is determined to lift the Meisterschale once for his beloved club. Mats Hummels’ decision to stay is a big boost for Dortmund as they know that they will lose a lot of key players in the summer and will need to replace them.

“Everyone knows how much I enjoy playing at Signal Iduna Park with our fantastic fans,” Hummels said. “It was not an easy decision for me to make. There was a long deliberation process. Now, at the end of the season, I can say: I’m still really fired up for another year.”

“Right now, the focus is back on Saturday’s game against Mainz. We still have 90 intense minutes ahead of us. After that, we hope to be able to celebrate something big together.”

Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl said that having Hummels’ experience and leadership in the dressing room for another season will be very helpful to their young team. “We are very pleased that Mats, with his experience and leadership, will still be available to our overall young team in the coming season,” Kehl said.

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