SOCCER: PERROTTA, PIZARRO EXTEND CONTRACTS

SOCCER: PERROTTA, PIZARRO EXTEND CONTRACTS

(ANSA) - Rome, October 29 - AS Roma midfield duo Simone Perrotta and David Pizarro on Thursday extended their contracts until 2011 and 2013 respectively, the Serie A club said.

Italy World Cup winner Perrotta, 32, will get 3.1 million euros for his extra year while Chilean midfielder Pizarro, 30, will receive 3.2 million euros for each of the two years.

The duo were recently linked to Russian outfit Zenit St Petersburg amid rising speculation ex-Giallorossi boss Luciano Spalletti is set to go there.

Under Spalletti's replacement Claudio Ranieri, Roma rose out of the relegation zone but Wednesday's 2-1 defeat at Udinese put them back two points above it.

The squad has been put in a three-day retreat ahead of Sunday's game at the Olimpico with Bologna, two points below them and among five teams in the drop zone. photo: Perrotta