Nibali close to new Liquigas-Cannodale deal

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Liquigas-Cannondale's Vincenzo Nibali is reportedly close to signing a two-year contract extension with the team, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. The 27-year-old Italian has been at Liquigas since 2006 and is seen as one of the key members of the squad.

The newspaper states that Nibali's new contract could be worth up to 1.8 million Euros per year and will be a reward for his excellent form over the last couple of seasons. Nibali won the Vuelta a Espana in 2010 and has finished on the podium in the last two stagings of the Giro d'Italia. He has impressed again in recent weeks by winning Tirreno-Adriatico and finishing second at Liege-Bastogne-Liege last Sunday.

"Liquigas and I are very close to an agreement," Nibali is quoted as saying. "We still have to polish some details, but in terms of the length of the contract and the economics, I would say that we already have. Seeing that it is a very important contract, before signing it I want to talk to my parents."

The newspaper also stated that Nibali was being courted by both Astana and BMC, but his loyalty to Liquigas will see him choose to renew with them.