After coach Mattia Croci-Torti and captain Mattia Bottani, Renato Steffen has also extended his contract with FC Lugano. The attacking player explains to blue Sport why he signed with the Ticino club until the summer of 2028.
On Sunday, leaders Lugano play against second-placed FC Basel. For the ambitious Renato Steffen, who used to play for the opposition and has "FCB in his heart", it was "two points lost" in the top-of-the-table clash, as he notes in an interview with blue Sport.
At least his mood improves when the conversation turns to his contract extension. However, staying in Ticino was not predetermined from the outset: "I've always said that I'm open to different options. But it was always the case that FC Lugano was the number one contact for me," says Steffen, adding: "It was also the case that various talks took place, so we certainly needed a bit of time to find each other."
Steffen continues: "At some point, we knew that we wanted to move on. We want to further strengthen the foundations that have been built up over the last few years. - Also with me. I want to help ensure that we can continue to play successful football. That's why - perhaps a little surprisingly for many - it's a three-year contract."
Steffen doesn't feel like 33
In 2028, Steffen, who was recently named the best Super League player of the 2024 calendar year, will be 36 years old. So it's the last big contract for the 41-time international (4 goals): "It's certainly also the case that I don't feel as old as I actually am. That was perhaps always a point in the negotiations, where I then said that I am 33 at the end of the day, but the figures, facts and how I play ... I don't feel like 33, more like 30," he says with a grin.
Steffen appreciates the sign from the club: "I'm delighted to have been given three years. That's certainly not commonplace in today's football. But it shows that I've done a lot of things right in the last three years. I want to build on that."
And if the former Bundesliga professional's performances are no longer up to scratch? "I'd be the first to be honest with myself if I saw that I'm no longer good enough for the Super League level," emphasizes Steffen.
"The time has not yet come. That's why I'm going to tackle the next three years with full commitment and hopefully play for many titles," says Steffen, who has played 222 games in Switzerland's top division so far (55 goals and 61 assists).
