Signed on the dotted line! Argentine goalkeeper Walter Benitez put pen to paper on a contract extension on Monday to keep him on the Côte d’Azur!

Named 2018-19 Aiglon of the Season and third this term, the Argentine shot-stopper will be playing on in Rouge et Noir. “It’s a clear message from the club and director of football, Julien Fournier: our aim is to retain our best players as long as possible. We have shown that with Walter", explained Patrick Vieira.

“I am very happy to stay here with Nice,” smiled Walter Benitez, who has made 106 appearances for Le Gym. “This was the best choice for my career. I feel great here. A great project began here last season with INEOS. Nice is a big club here in France, but also overseas. It’s all positive. These are the reasons that I decided to extend my stay here.”

The custodian admitted he was starting to feel the pressure from the fans in recent weeks: “People were often asking me if I was going to sign and when... It’s nice, very flattering. The fans are right behind us and they are happy with what I have achieved since I joined the club. Today, it’s done… today, I’ve signed. I think they are going to be happy, just like me!”

A product of the Quilmes youth academy in Argentina, the ‘keeper left his homeland in the summer of 2016 for the most-beautiful city in the world. He arrived on the Côte d’Azur with little fanfare and settled quickly. Humble, hard-working and ambitious, he toiled tirelessly under then-coach Lionel Letizi forcing his way into the starting line-up under Lucien Favre and then Patrick Vieira. 

“This contract extension is very good news. I have been working with Walter for two years now and, honestly, I enjoy it immensely,” rejoiced the OGCN head coach. “He is a very good goalkeeper and a role model for the young players in the squad. I have a lot of respect and admiration for the man behind the player. Walter is a consummate professional. He is always ready, training hard every day, he knows his body. He’s a player you can count on.”

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