Lyon Fc

WILTORD SIGNS NEW LYON DEAL

Lyon forward Sylvain Wiltord has signed a two-year extension to his contract with the five-time French champions, meaning he will stay at the club until June 2008.

Wiltord, who is currently in Tignes with Les Bleus ahead of their pre-World Cup friendly against Mexico on Saturday, joined Les Gones in 2004 from Arsenal and has since become a key element of Lyon's attack.

Wiltord had been coveted by Paris St Germain, Marseille and Saint Etienne but eventually decided to remain in Lyon where he put pen-to-paper to the new deal on Sunday before joining his national team.

"Olympique Lyonnais confirm their agreement with international striker Sylvain Wiltord on a two-year extension deal, with view to a third season," read a statement on www.olweb.com.

"This contract extension shows the club's desire to trust the current team which has claimed such great success in recent years while also bolstering the group with the arrival of some of the best French youngsters such as Jeremy Toulalan."

Lyon have also recently extended the contracts of Francois Clerc, Cris, Gregory Coupet and Florent Malouda.