Real Sociedad have continued to tie down their key players on long-term deals, with the renewal of Igor Zubeldia.
The 26-year-old central defender, converted from a holding midfielder, has been an essential part of La Real over recent seasons and will be in Donostia-San Sebastian for six more if his contract is fulfilled, signing a new deal that will keep him in Gipuzkoa until 2029. Zubeldia will be 32 when his new deal finishes.
"𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲".#Zubeldia2029 | #AurreraReala pic.twitter.com/yMij77IW7U
— Real Sociedad 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 (@RealSociedadEN) May 17, 2023
“I have made an important statement of intent this season, and as a result of that, this reward has come to me. I have always had in my head that when I go out on the field, the objective is to give my best and this year, luckily, I think I am having a great season. Physically, mentally everything is good,” he was quoted by MD.
He went on to reiterate that he felt like on a personal level he had made a major jump this season, before highlighting the excellent progress of the team.
“Sometimes we don’t appreciate the difficulty of things we achieve, such as qualifying for Europe four times, but this year we have a bigger prize within reach and as we always want more, we’re going to go for it with all our might. Every time I see the Txuri-Urdin shirt I have a single idea in my head: to give my best for this club.”
La Real of course are five points clear in fourth place, and just eight points from securing Champions League football for next season. They do however face Atletico Madrid and Barcelona away from hom before the season ends.
Zubeldia has made 36 appearances this season, starting 33 of them, adding a goal and two assists. Alongside Robin Le Normand, he has been an instrumental part of the defence though.
This is just the latest in a succession of contract renewals at La Real though, securing their best players to the club long-term. Afer David Silva also renewed for another season, the only players set to depart on a free this summer are Asier Illarramendi, who is playing his last season at La Real, and loanee Alexander Sorloth.
