Sergio Busquets to sign new five-year Barcelona deal with £171.7m release clause

Barcelona have confirmed Sergio Busquets will finally sign a new five-year deal on Thursday (22 September). The La Liga giants announced an agreement for the Spaniard to commit his future to the club until 2021 in May. However, the signing has been delayed for almost four months due to unspecified issues.

Busquets, 28, has been one of Barcelona's most influential players during the Catalans' golden era, helping them win six La Liga titles, three Champions Leagues, four Copas del Rey, three Uefa Super Cups, four Spanish Super Cups and three Fifa Club World Cups.

However, his future at the Nou Camp came under scrutiny last season after the Spaniard revealed he would consider a move to Manchester City to reunite with Pep Guardiola, as the manager promoted him to the first team at Barca in 2008.

"I have always said that there are only two people who can change my decision to stay here. One is my wife, and she supports Barcelona, so I do not think there is a problem on a personal level. From a sporting level, the other person would be Guardiola. It is clear that I owe him a lot and so for me to work with him again would be an honour," the Barcelona star said during an interview with ESPN.

Busquets had signed a new contract at Barcelona just in 2015, but added more fuel to the speculations after claiming the club had failed to fulfil a pay rise promise.

On 27 May the La Liga giants reacted to those stories by revealing that Busquets had agreed a new deal until 2021 with a €200m ( £171.7m, $223m) release clause, adding that "the new contract will be signed in the coming days".

However, Barcelona have surprisingly failed to confirm the signing of the deal until today.

"First team player Sergio Busquets will be putting pen to paper to sign his new contract with FC Barcelonaon Thursday 22 September at 1.00pm CET in the club offices," the club have confirmed.

"As has already been announced, the midfielder will be prolonging his relations with the club until 30 June 2021, while the deal also includes the option of a further two-year extension through to the 2022/23 season, depending on the number of games that he plays. The buyout clause has been set at 200 million euros."

Reports in Spain claim that the new contract will see Busquets increase his salary considerably, being behind only Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez, Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique on the club's payroll.