London: French centre-back Marcel Desailly has signed a one-year extension to his Chelsea contract that will keep him at the club until June 2005.

The French international said that the rash of recent signings at the London club persuaded him to stay on. “The new people running the club have shown that they are building for the long term,” he said. This means that I will be able to finish my career in Europe at a big club,” he said. (Reuters)