Verbal agreementPhilipp Lahm set to extend stay until 201604.11.2010
Bayern’s future squad planning has taken on even firmer contours after the board of directors and Philipp Lahm agreed the terms of a contract extension with the player, keeping him at the club until 30 June 2016. The 26-year-old full-back will ink his new deal in the course of the next few days.
“We’re delighted about agreeing a long-term contract extension with an important member of the team,” commented chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge ahead of the Bayern party’s flight back to Germany from Cluj. Lahm’s current deal with Bayern expires on 30 June 2012.
The Munich-born defender joined Bayern in 1995, later spending the period from 2003 to 2005 on loan with VfB Stuttgart. Since then, he has made 148 Bundesliga appearances for the Bavarians (4 goals) and has been a member of double-winning sides three times.
Lahm is Bayern’s Mr Consistency, having started the club’s last 78 competitive matches and being substituted before the end just once. The 4-0 victory over Cluj was the player’s 37th match for FCB in the Champions League.
Lahm is also a pivotal member of the current Germany team, with 75 caps to his name so far. He has acted as stand-in for injured national captain Michael Ballack since the 2010 World Cup, and is vice-captain at Bayern after Mark van Bommel.