Axel Witsel announces he'll stay at Zenit St Petersburg another year after being pursued by Juventus, Inter, Roma and Milan.
The decision may be deliberately intended as part of a plan to reach the Bianconeri on the long term, as the Belgian will be a free agent next year.
"News about my transfer were published everywhere,” Witsel told Rsport.ru. “But I think it would be best for me now if I stayed here another year. After that, we'll see.
Axel Witsel announces he'll stay at Zenit St Petersburg another year after being pursued by Juventus, Inter, Roma and Milan.
The decision may be deliberately intended as part of a plan to reach the Bianconeri on the long term, as the Belgian will be a free agent next year.
"News about my transfer were published everywhere,” Witsel told Rsport.ru. “But I think it would be best for me now if I stayed here another year. After that, we'll see.
"Now I am 100 per cent focused on my training and matches, and on Zenit.
"Whether I'll stay beyond the expiry date of my contract? I do not know. Still, never say never. Today, I am fully focused on the current season, I want to give everything I've got, and as for what will happen next, we'll wait and see."
Witsel has also been linked to the Premier League, and he was asked whether he'd take that over Serie A.
"I really do not have any preferences. It won't make much of a difference if I'm at one of the top clubs in England or in Italy, because it is the elite.
"And I have no problems playing here. In winter, it's cold in Belgium too. I've already played in my country at times when the street was minus 14. So that's all right.
"I think St. Petersburg one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and I really like to live here."