The Tynecastle captain, who has made more than 200 Hearts appearances, has signed a one-year extension that ties him to his first club until the summer of 2021.

The former Wolves and Ipswich centre-back signed a three-year deal when he returned to Edinburgh in 2017 and is keen to see out his career in maroon.

The 33-year-old told Hearts TV: “The gaffer and Ann mentioned it to me and I said there wasn’t really any negotiating needed.

Christophe Berra is keen on seeing out his career with Hearts. Picture: SNS Group

“I’m happy, I’m happy to stay. I come from this city and I started my career here and I’ve always wanted to finish it here.  “There weren’t really any negotiations, it was just same as and move on, really.

“I’m really happy. I’ve made it well known that I want to stay here and finish my career here so hopefully that will be the case.”

Berra, who missed almost four months of this season with a hamstring injury, turns 34 on Thursday but would not rule out signing another deal.

“Touch wood, I’ve been injury-free most of my career, apart from that one bad one but I’ve come back hopefully stronger. “I’ll just take every game as it comes and every season and see where I am come towards the end of my contract,” he added.

“It’s a great place to play and we’re trying to build something here over the next two or three seasons.

“The manager is trying to do that and hopefully we can keep all of our key players for the next couple of seasons.

“It’s a pleasure to be here. It’s a family club, it’s well supported and there’s no better place for me to be.”

‘No better place to be’: Christophe Berra on why he didn’t need to negotiate new Hearts deal