Thursday 3 July 2014 15:02, UK
Eric Abidal and Ricardo Carvalho will be staying at Monaco next season after both players penned one-year contract extensions.
Full-back Abidal and centre-half Carvalho both arrived in the principality last summer on one-year deals, putting their futures at the club at the end of last season under scrutiny.
The duo were thought to be considering retirement, with Carvalho now 36 and Abidal 34, but new boss Leonardo Jardim has decided to keep the pair at the Stade Louis II until June 2015.
"AS Monaco is pleased to announce contract extensions for an additional season for Eric Abidal and Ricardo Carvalho," read a statement on the club's official website.
"Having arrived at AS Monaco during the 2013 off-season on one-year contracts, Eric Abidal and Ricardo Carvalho were central in the 2013-2014 season.
"Today, the club announced that it reached an agreement with the players for a contract extension for an additional season.
"Eric Abidal and Ricardo Carvalho will stay with AS Monaco until June 2015."
Frenchman Abidal made 29 appearances last season, with Portuguese Carvalho featuring 40 times as Monaco finished second in Ligue 1 behind Paris Saint-Germain.
Monaco later confirmed former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes would not be joining the Ligue 1 club.
Valdes, who has been out of action since suffering a season-ending knee injury in March, reportedly underwent medical tests in the principality on Wednesday.
He is currently a free agent after his Barca contract expired and had been heavily linked with a move to the Stade Louis II.
However, vice-president Vadim Vasilyev was quoted as saying at a press conference on Thursday: "Valdes will not come to Monaco. He is injured, so he will not come."
