Manchester City tie down defender Kolarov

Manchester City FC have tied down Aleksandar Kolarov for a further three years after agreeing a new deal with the Serbian international defender.

The 28-year-old has signed an extension to his current contract with the Premier League champions which will see him stay at the club until 2018. Kolarov joined City from SS Lazio in July 2010 for a fee believed to be over €19m and has since made 136 appearances in all competitions, scoring 15 goals, while taking his international tally to 49 caps. Kolarov played 30 times in the league last term on the way to lifting his second English title with City and also picked up a winners' medal in the League Cup.

"I am very happy and very proud of this new contract," he said. "Last season I played a lot and I think I proved to people in the club that they can believe in me. When we won two trophies last season, I was happy with what we did and I think it's good for the club and for me that we are here now. I think we can do a lot more things in the future. We've won everything in England and I think we can do a lot more in Europe."

Manuel Pellegrini's men will join the UEFA Champions League in the group stage as they bid to better their run to the last 16 in 2013/14.