Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has signed a contract extension with the Premier League champions through to 2016.

The 26-year-old Serbia international joined the London club in January 2008 for a reported four million pounds (then $8 million).

After agreeing to the 5½-year deal, Ivanovic said Thursday that "my first vision was always to stay with Chelsea, there were not a lot of problems because I wanted to stay."

Ivanovic has won two FA Cups and a Premier League title with Chelsea.

He says "the three years has gone very quickly and I think it has been a success, so I hope to carry on getting better and better with Chelsea."