Gavi agrees new Barca contract

Barcelona’s teenage midfielder Gavi has agreed to sign a new contract at Camp Nou until 2026, the Catalan club announced on Wednesday.

Gavi’s release clause will rise to €1 billion as part of the deal, the same amount as the clauses written into Pedri, Ansu Fati, Ronald Araujo and Ferran Torres’ contracts.

Barca have long been optimistic about getting Gavi to agree to new terms, with his previous deal due to expire in 2023, but a series of factors held up the process.

Players under the age of 18 in Spain cannot sign contracts for longer than three years, so Barca had to wait until Gavi turned 18 in August to be able to secure his services long term.

The club also needed to make salary space within their LaLiga-imposed spending limit to be able to register the new deal.

Miralem Pjanic’s move to Sharjah FC last week, sources told ESPN, means the club have been able to finalise Gavi’s new terms with LaLiga.

During the delay in agreeing a new contract, sources have confirmed that some of Europe’s top clubs contacted Gavi’s representatives to sound out a deal.

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However, despite that interest, Gavi always made it clear that his preference was to remain at Barca, who he joined from Real Betis as an 11-year-old.

After progressing through the La Masia academy, Gavi made his first-team debut last August, just after turning 17, in a league match against Getafe.

In total, he made 47 appearances last season, scoring two goals and earning international recognition with Spain.

He has since won 10 caps for the national team and is expected to be part of Luis Enrique’s squad for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.