Wednesday, 15th January, 2014
Marc Bartra has extended his Barcelona contract until 2017, despite interest from the likes of Chelsea, with a healthy release clause thrown in.
The 23-year-old Bartra is enjoying a productive season in Catalunya, with 11 La Liga games under his belt, but his contract was set to run out in the summer.
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His performances had attracted Chelsea and Liverpool as well, though the centre-back is more likely to be a Carles Puyol successor when the time comes.
And Barcelona today ensured a clamp down on future speculation, at least for the moment, by confirming his contract extension.
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"FC Barcelona announces that it has reached an agreement with Marc Bartra to renew his contract and it is extended until 30th June, 2017", a club statement read.
"The termination clause of the new contract is €25m. The player's contract will be signed in the coming weeks."
Bartra has only ever played for Barcelona in his career, and worked his way up the youth ranks to make the senior squad in the summer of 2012.
His progress was noticed at Spain's senior level as well, with coach Vicente del Bosque handing him a debut in the November friendly against Equatorial Guinea.
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