Soccer-Relief for Jeonbuk as Leonardo extends stay

SEOUL, July 10 (Reuters) - Brazilian midfielder Leonardo has agreed to extend his contract at Jeonbuk Motors for two more years, the K League club said on Friday, bringing some welcome news to the South Korean champions at the end of a tough week. After seeing their lead in the Korean top flight cut to five points on Sunday after a shock 1-1 home draw with Gwangju, Jeonbuk saw Leonardo's compatriots Edu and Eninho leave the club in quick succession. Eninho, who first joined in 2009 and returned this year after a season in China, stunned the club on Monday by announcing he was returning to Brazil because he could not recapture his best form. Jeonbuk said on their website they had tried to persuade the attacking midfielder to stay on but his mind was made up and he bid an emotional farewell to home fans at half-time on Sunday. Worse was to come on Thursday when Brazilian striker Edu accepted a move to Chinese side Hebei China Fortune. However, the news that free-kick specialist Leonardo had decided to put pen to paper on a contract extension has lifted some of the gloom around Jeonbuk, who won 10 of their opening 12 league games before a drop in form saw them claim just three victories from their last nine. "The K League's top foreign attacker Leonardo has signed a two-year contract extension," the club said on its website. The Brazilian, who arrived from AEK Athens in 2012, said: "I'm happy that I'll be wearing a Jeonbuk uniform until 2017." Jeonbuk travel to face Jeju United on Saturday before hosting Suwon in a top of the table clash on July 26. (Reporting by Peter Rutheford; Editing by John O'Brien)