Ricardo Rodriguez extends with Wolfsburg until 2019

VfL Wolfsburg and Swiss international Ricardo Rodriguez agreed on a contract extension until 2019, the "Wolves" confirmed in an official statement on Thursday.

The Swiss international extended his current contract, until 2016, ahead of schedule as he inked a contract extension for four years.

"Ricardo has developed enormously. His contract extension is important for us, as he is a key player of our team. We are glad that we were able to convince him to stay with us and we hope that our cooperation continues as successful as previously," Wolfsburg director of sport Klaus Allofs said.

Ricardo Rodriguez is one of the most dangerous left backs in the Bundesliga. He reaped eight goals and 16 assists in 87 appearances since his transfer into Germany's top flight in January 2012. Besides that Rodriguez is since 2011 part of the Swiss national soccer team, the "Nati", where he made 28 caps to date.

"I am very happy with the contract extension," the 23-year-old left back said. "I am here since three years. We have a great team; I have settled and found a lot of friends here. After talking to my family and advisors I finally decided to extend with Wolfsburg."

The "Wolves" completed the best first half of the campaign in the club's history as they occupy the second place in the Bundesliga standings. They sit 11 points adrift of front-runners and German record champions Bayern Munich, who will encounter the "Wolves" at the curtain raiser of the second half of the season on January 30. Endi