Dias proud to have chance to play at the top for a decade | OneFootball

Ruben Dias says it’s a proud moment to know he will be playing at the top level with Manchester City for 10 seasons.

The Portuguese defender has signed a new four-year contract which will keep him at the Club until the summer of 2029.

Dias joined City from boyhood club Benfica in 2020 and has already made more than 200 appearances for the Club, winning nine trophies during his five seasons so far.

The 28-year-old said it was his dream growing up to play in the Premier League and competing for titles every season – having won it in each of his four years with the Blues.

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“I’m very happy with all of it,” he said after signing his new deal. “I think mostly with the opportunity to play four or five more years at this level of this kind of ambition.

“Obviously, I’ve been here five years now and the Premier League was always the target. The Premier League was always the one I was watching when I was a kid.

“The Premier League was where I set the standard of being top or not [and I’m proud] to have the opportunity of extending and fighting for nine or 10 years in this Club at this level.

“I’ve obviously won many things since I came and hopefully I’ll win more, but just the achievement of playing at this level for nine or 10 years, just by itself, is one I will be very proud of.”

WATCH: Dias: City is the perfect place to be

Dias has had a huge impact since joining the Club, winning the Player of the Year in his first season as he helped us reclaim the Premier League title.

And he played a massive role in our success over the past five years, helping us to claim every major honour and says the new contract is a culmination of everything he has achieved.

“In a way this is a big celebration of what happened and all the memories I have in this Club and all the titles and all the effort,” he added. “In a way I could say this is the special moment.

“There’s some of them that will have a very close spot to my heart and one of them will always be the Treble. And the other one will be my first season. Because of everything being new and the statement I did to myself.

“Also one that I will keep very close to my mind and my heart and my best memories is four-in-a-row because it had never been done before.”

WATCH: Ruben Dias signs new City contract!

A family man and close to his parents and brother, Dias says the atmosphere at the Club also made it easy for him to sign his new contract.

As well as a desire to win trophies that runs throughout, the 28-year-old says there is also a huge amount of respect in the dressing room and beyond.

“It starts with the ambition of everyone in the Club – from the owners to the players to the staff, the kitmen, the chefs, everyone,” he said.

“We’re all here to win but in order to win, you have to create a family. So we’re all here every day in good will and trying to connect with each other.

“Obviously, everyone has bad days and that’s part of it, but at the end of the day, we really are trying to create a family so you’re coming into a Club that feels like home.

“You know what you’re set up for from the beginning and every new season but you still respect a lot the word family in here.

“For me, that’s important. I’ve always been a family person. I’ve always been very close to my parents, to my brother and my family in general so that’s something that echoes in my way of thinking and my well-being every day at the Club.

“I’ve obviously come to feel very much at home after these five years and I feel like I’m in the perfect place to keep on going and keep on pushing.”

WATCH: Watch: The best of Ruben Dias at City so far