David Luiz has signed a new two-year Chelsea deal running until the summer of 2021, the Premier League outfit announced on Friday evening.
The Brazilian’s previous contract was due to expire this summer and it was unclear whether Chelsea would sanction a renewal given his age.
Chelsea’s policy is not to entertain new contracts for players the wrong side of 30 and Luiz will turn 33 in the second half of next season.
However, Chelsea have been backed into a corner to a certain degree after failing to overturn a FIFA-imposed transfer ban that will prevent them from signing new players in each of the next two transfer windows.
Chelsea have taken their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and are hopeful they will be able to temporarily lift the ban this summer, but have nonetheless handed Luiz a new deal in a bid to prevent him following Gary Cahill out of the club at the end of the season.
Luiz has spent the last three years at Chelsea after completing a shock return to Stamford Bridge in a £34m deal from Paris Saint-Germain.
The Brazil international played an integral part in Chelsea’s league title triumph in his first season in charge before dropping out of favour under Antonio Conte last term.
He faced an uncertain future at the club this season and Maurizio Sarri even conceded he was surprised by the veteran’s ability.
While lapses of concentration are commonplace in Luiz’s game, his range of passing is elite level of centre-backs, illustrated by the fact no player has completed more through balls than the 32-year-old in the Premier League this season (12).
