West Ham co-owner David Gold has lavished praise on right-back Pablo Zabaleta on Twitter, describing the 33-year-old as a ‘first class professional.’
The Argentina international has become a fan favourite at the London Stadium since his switch from Manchester City in the summer of 2017, making 52 appearances for the club so far.
Zabaleta has now revealed to Sky Sports that he has no plans to retire after his current deal expires at the end of the season, with Gold praising the defender for his professionalism and personality in a seven-word Twitter verdict.
First class professional with a great personality. dg https://t.co/XyxGOJuK5z
— David Gold (@davidgold) December 14, 2018
OPINION
Zabaleta is a player who is universally loved at West Ham, with the veteran defender having made such a positive impact since his free transfer from Manchester City in the summer of 2017. Zabaleta has always been a model professional and he has carried that into his time at the London Stadium, taking on the role as a senior player with such ease. He is a brilliant role model for the younger players, and continues to outplay many of them, including summer signing Ryan Fredericks, who failed to displace him from the starting team before his unfortunate injury blow. Gold’s praise of Zabaleta here is merely a continuation of that, and would suggest that the club are likely to offer him a fresh deal in the summer. There have been reports that Zabaleta is set to trigger a new deal with a certain amount of appearances anyway, but it is not clear what he himself will want to do when the season ends. West Ham fans will obviously be hoping that he stays, with Gold likely to be among that number as well.