Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi has signed a two year contract extension to stay with the club until 2022.
The experienced Argentine – nicknamed “The General” by fans – has already played 118 times for City since joining the club from Valencia in 2015 and lifted the League Cup in 2016 following a penalty shoot out at Wembley against Liverpool.
He has also started picking up goals too, scoring five so far this season which is more than his previous tally of four in two previous seasons with the Blues.
Otamendi has 51 caps for Argentina and is 29 now, and will be 33 when his latest deal expires.
Speaking about his latest deal, Otamendi was proud to stay in Manchester and praised the influence of City manager Pep Guardiola for his improvement this season. Otamendi said:
“What I like the most about City and Manchester is my life here. I’m a family man, I like to spend my time at home with my family and with my extended family when they visit.
“You get hooked in by the city and I’m enjoying it. This is a very beautiful city. At the club, I’m really enjoying my experience since the first day I got here. I’m very happy to be staying here a couple more years.
“I think that now I have an important role because the central defenders have to build-up with the ball and make the team work as best as we can. Pep has taught to us how to do that. From the first day you work with him you learn from him… even being at home you’re still learning from him.
“Every movement, how you need to be positioned, how you can receive the ball, all this information is on your brain and this is very important for a football player. I’m very happy for playing this kind of football.”
The modest Argentine was also relishing the challenges to come after earning Guardiola’s utmost respect – following his improvement this season, adding:
“When a manager like Pep praises you it means a lot. Since he got here I’ve learnt a lot and I’m still learning and I’m trying to enjoy it.
“We are in a certain timeframe where we all enjoy his football, he’s mad about sport and tactics. I’m really enjoying it and I’m very grateful to him because I’m enjoying playing football.”
There has been plenty of discussion around City’s defensive frailties but Otamendi has shown vast improvement under Guardiola but City remain in the hunt for defensive reinforcements after injuries to captain Vincent Kompany and John Stones while Eliaquim Mangala has not always been Guardiola’s first choice.
On the other hand, Otamendi has quickly risen to become a vital player in Guardiola’s plans, completing 2033 passes – 400 more than the next defender on the Premier League list – and has only missed one Premier League game this season.