Darijo Srna, the former captain of the Croatian national football team, has signed a new contract with Shakhtar Donetsk.
Although he retired from the Croatian national football team back in 2016, Darijo Srna still sees a bright future playing for Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk. Thus, the Croat extended his contract with the club on Monday, which also happened to be his 35th birthday. The new contract will be good through the summer of 2018, reports Dalmacija News on May 1, 2017.
"We didn’t negotiate a contract because I believe in the club and in the president Rinat Akhmetov. It's hard to say how long I can play. Even though I am now 35, I feel good. I love and respect Shakhtar and its fans and I'm not one to cheat, I do not intend on playing only to set some records. I'll stop as soon as I feel that I can not play at a high level. I want to win the Ukrainian Cup this season more than ever before, and once again play in the Champions League,” said Srna.
Srna arrived at Shakhtar in 2003 from Hajduk and has been the longtime captain of the Ukrainian club. Srna has played 524 matches with Shakhtar, scored 49 goals, and won 22 trophies, including the UEFA Cup in 2009.
Of the nine Ukrainian championship titles, eight were won during the Srna era. Srna was also involved in winning six domestic cups. Shakhtar is on the right track is to win another Ukrainian championship title this season as they currently have 14 points over Dynamo Kyiv.
Srna also holds the record number of appearances for the Croatian national team, having played 134 matches.
