Lee Bowyer: Charlton boss agrees to one-year contract extension

Lee Bowyer began his career as a player at Charlton and took over at The Valley in 2018, initially on a caretaker basis

Charlton Athletic boss Lee Bowyer has agreed a one-year contract extension with the club a day after the Addicks said they were unable to agree terms.

On Monday, the club said Bowyer turned down a one-year contract extension.

The 42-year-old led the Addicks to the Championship this season with victory in the League One play-off final.

"This has been a long process and I never wanted to leave, I love this club," he told the official website after signing a new deal.

"I'd like to thank the owner for giving me the initial opportunity and now for continuing to believe in me."

'All I wanted to do is stay at the club'

In Monday's club statement, Charlton said it would not be "good business practice" to offer Bowyer a long-term deal and a big wage increase when the Addicks were losing money and a new owner could be in place in a few weeks.

It described other owners as "crazy" for paying managers huge amounts in a division where clubs make a loss of about £15m per year on average.

Bowyer, who is currently in France, told Sky Sports on Tuesday that he was "not close" to leaving Charlton and did not know of the club's statement until he was made aware of it by his wife.

"I'd literally spoken to the owner (Roland Duchatelet) just before I'd spoken to my wife and had a normal conversation with him," said Bowyer. "It was civilised and we were negotiating.

"It was only when I came off the phone that I'd heard there was a statement that had gone out.

"Two or three hours after we'd originally spoken, he called me to say he'd like to agree what we'd spoken about earlier and let's move things forward, which was great to hear. All I wanted to do is stay at the club. I love the club."

The Addicks have been up for sale since 2017, with Cardiff City chairman Mehmet Dalman in talks about a potential takeover.

"Lee has been offered a one-year extension to his contract at a level which is approximately three times what he had since his last increase when he became permanent manager in September," Monday's statement said.

"This reflects the strong desire we have to continue to have Lee as our manager. But Lee wanted much more.

"The owner [Duchatelet] understands Lee's point of view, because many Championship clubs pay huge amounts to their manager. It is fair that Lee feels he should be paid like many other Championship managers."