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Kiessling signs contract extension at Leverkusen

Alex ChafferApril 19, 2016

Stefan Kiessling will stay with Bayer Leverkusen until 2018 after signing a new contract. The striker,who has been with Leverkusen since 2006, is to be given a role at the club after his playing days are over.

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Fußball Bundesliga Bayer Leverkusen - Borussia Mönchengladbach
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/S. Steinbach

A statement posted on Bayer Leverkusen's official website said that the former German international had signed a one-year contract extension that will keep him in the club's colors until 2018.

Kiessling said that he was "very happy" about the contract extension. "I have always given everything for this club and will continue to do so, while reaching for lofty goals. Of course, I still want to win a title here."

The 32-year-old Kiessling joined Leverkusen from Nuremberg in July 2006 and has made 408 appearances with the club, scoring 157 goals.

"Stefan is a personality with whom we and our fans identify," Leverkusen's managing director, Michael Schade. said. "He simply belongs with Bayer 04."

Kiessling's contract had been set to expire in the summer of 2017, however Leverkusen's sporting director, Rudi Völler, said the striker had earned the extension due to his performance on and off the pitch.

"His leadership qualities and experience can't be valued highly enough," Völler said.

Leverkusen's statement added that management had also reached an agreement with Kiessling that will see him remain at the club after his playing days are over. "What form this will take remains to be seen,"Schade said. "We will always have an open door for Stefan."