Agreement on Xavi renewal until 2014

Catalan sports apper Sport claims that a deal between the club and the player has yesterday been found on the contract renewal of Barcelona attacking midfielder and Spanish international Xavi (28).

Xavi, whose curernt contract expires in 2010, will sign a new contract until the summer of 2014. The Catalan midfielder will earn a possible year salary of 7,5 million euro (including the incentives) and would that way become the fourth best paid player of the squad, behind Messi, Eto'o and Henry.

The deal hasn't yet been announced, probably because Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain wasn't in Barcelona yesterday because of a serious family problem. The club plans to make the renewal deal public at the beginnng of next week, when Begiristain is expected to have returned to Barcelona.

Yesterday afternoon a last meeting was held at the Camp Nou. For part of the club, Barcelona president Joan Laporta, Barcelona sports vice president Rafael Yuste and Barcelona general director Raül Sanllehí participated in the talks. Xavi's agent Iván Corretja was at the last minute urged to come to the stadium and the president called Xavi after yesterday's training session asking him to join the meeting and to put a first signature.

Laporta would have promised Xavi during the trip to Lisbon this week that the deal would be closed before the end of the week. Xavi and his agent left yesterday's meeting with a feeling of satisfaction.

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo, who reports that Begiristain had to travel to Japan where his brother would have had to undergo surgery, claims that a deal is almost agreed upon and that Xavi will sign his new contract until 2014 next week. With Barcelona accepting to extend the duration of the contract until 2014, Xavi would have agreed to not earn more than Henry.

While Sport claims that Xavi confirmed the deal this morning, Barcelona president Joan Laporta denied the renewal to journalists this afternoon: "It's true that the negotiations are going in the right direction but nothing is done yet. We have to wait until Txiki returns from his trip, because it's him who is directly leading the talks."

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