Aleksandar Kolarov Signs Contract Extension with Roma

Having played every single Serie A minute thus far, as well as nearly 6,000 minutes the past two seasons, Aleskandar Kolarov's importance to Roma was pretty obvious. Your choice for left-back on our Roma Team of the Decade has unequivocally been one of the best signings the club has ever made. Purchased for only €5 million two summers ago, Kolarov has returned Roma's faith many times over, serving up goals and assists in nearly equal number since arriving from Manchester City in the summer of 2017.

While we've fretted about the weight of those 6,000 minutes over the past few seasons, Kolarov remains in phenomenal playing shape, even as he approaches his 35th birthday later this year, and has been adamant that he wants to solider on for a further three to four seasons.

Today, he took the first step towards achieving that goal:

Flashing his trademark smile, Kolarov put pen to paper on a new contract extension earlier today, one that will keep him in the capital through 2021, extending his Roma stay by one-year.

Kolarov and club CEO Guido Fienga each expressed their pleasure at the new deal, while Kolarov's comments seemed to indicate this could be the first in a series of new deals.

“I see it as another starting point: I intend to keep on improving and developing in order to contribute to the growth of this club.”

If Kolarov can continue at this pace, or at least a reasonable fraction of it, then signing a series of mini-extensions could enable Kolarov to achieve his goal of playing till he's almost 40, while Roma can buy themselves more time to find a left-back of the future.

Either way, this was a well-earned extension for Kolarov, who has been a rock for Roma the past two and a half seasons and shows no signs of slowing down.