Madrid: FC Barcelona have confirmed that promising young central defender Marc Bartra has signed a contract extension with the club, Xinhua reported.
Bartra, who made his debut for Spain in November when he played in the 2-1 win over Ecuatorial Guinea, would have been out of contract at the end of the current campaign.
The club has convinced him to extend his agreement with them until for a further three years until the end of June 2017 and to raise his buyout clause to 25 million Euros.
It is a birthday present for the player who celebrates his 23rd birthday Wednesday and the reward for a season in which he has finally been able to establish himself as a fixture in the Barcelona first team squad.
Bartra has made 11 appearances in the BBVA Primera Liga this campaign, as well as two in the Champions League and one in the Copa del Rey and has shown himself to be a solid, fast and brave defender, who is very comfortable surging into the opponents' half to create scoring chances.
Last season, Bartra looked as if he could struggle to make the final step forward into the Barca first team as he made just eight appearances in the league and played a total of just 16 times in all competitions, despite the injuries suffered by Carles Puyol and Javier Mascherano.
