Boa Morte signs five-year Fulham deal

Luis Boa Morte has signed a new five-year contract with Fulham to keep him at the west London club until 2010.

The Portuguese forward was the subject of summer interest from Newcastle, who the Cottagers face today, but manager Chris Coleman was determined to keep him and after making him captain, Boa Morte now has a new deal.

“We’re not in the habit of selling our best players, we also want to plan for the future and he’s a big part of that,” Coleman told the club’s official website www.fulhamfc.com.

“Boa’s been here for five years and has played 200 games, that’s 40 games a season give or take. If he stays here another five years, that means he has been here 10 years, which is rare in football today. The point is he was more than happy to stay for another five years.

“Everybody has got a price if someone comes in and offers a ridiculous amount of money. But there’s no get-out clause or price in his contract.

“He can be the captain for five years as long as I’m here and he shows the same levels of commitment, performance and consistency.

“He likes it here, he likes the feel of the club and he knows that the fans absolutely idolise him.

“The staff around the club worship him, the players love him and that’s important for Boa because he’s a very passionate person – especially about football. He’s like a king here and rightly so – he has put the miles in over the last five years.”

Boa Morte, who has been capped 19 times and scored twice for Portugal’s senior national team, joined Fulham in June 2001 in a £1.7m (€2.5m) move from Southampton, having begun his career in England with Arsenal.