Xavi signs new Barca deal

Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez has put pen to paper on a new deal that ties him to the Catalan club until 2016. Reports on Monday afternoon confirmed the signing of a two-year extension to the midfield maestro's current contract, after a verbal agreement had been discussed and reached over the last few weeks. A statement on the club's official website read: "Xavi Hernandez will wear azulgrana until June 30 2016, after this afternoon signing the extension of his contract with FC Barcelona. "The midfielder from Terrassa, who last Friday turned 33 years old, extends for two more years the deal which was to finish on June 30, 2014." Xavi's deal is the third in recent months following the extensions agreed by team-mates Carles Puyol and Lionel Messi, the former having commited to the club until 2016, and the latter due to put pen to paper on his new long-term deal imminently. However, it has not been all good news on the personnel front for the Blaugrana, as current No.1 Victor Valdes indicated his intention to leave the club at the expiry of his current deal in June 2014. Xavi is one of the most decorated footballers in Spanish football history, having won a mammoth 20 senior trophies in his 650 appearances for the club since making his debut for Barca in 1998. The Spanish international has also won a World Cup and two European championships with La Furia Roja.