Report: Barcelona Veteran Sergio Busquets Close to New Contract Extension
Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets is close to agreeing to an improved contract at Camp Nou with an announcement set for the next few weeks, sources close to the club have intimated.
Busquets' current contract runs until 2021 and includes a clause which would see it automatically extended to 2023, if he plays a certain number of matches over the next few seasons.
However, Barcelona want to reward Busquets' consistency by fast-tracking him onto a new deal which will bring him in line with some of the club's top earners.
Mundo Deportivo reports that talks are scheduled for next week to finalise the terms of Busquets' new contract, which Diario Sport claims will bring his salary into the category of players below talisman Lionel Messi.
Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu reportedly promised Busquets that his contract would be re-negotiated if any of the other players on his salary level also had their wages increased.
Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho's pay grades have automatically increased in their second seasons to move them onto that second level below Messi, so Busquets contract will be improved to match.
Busquets' current release clause of €200m will also be doubled to €400m, the same as Dembele and Coutinho.
Bartomeu confirmed in a radio interview last week that Busquets' extension had already been factored into Barcelona's financial accounts for the season.
Busquets is closing in on 500 appearances for Barcelona since making his first team debut in 2008. This new contract will move him one step close to his dream of retiring at the Nou Camp.
