Samper set for Barca exit

Barcelona have agreed to terminate the contract of midfielder Sergi Samper, who is reportedly set to join Japanese club Vissel Kobe.

The 24-year-old came up through the youth ranks at Barca and has made 13 appearances for the first team, helping his home-town club win LaLiga, the Champions League, Copa del Rey, World Club Cup and Spanish Super Cup.

A club statement on Monday read: "FC Barcelona and Sergi Samper have reached an agreement for the cancellation of the player's contract with the club."

The former Spain Under-21 international has been heavily linked with a move to J1 League side Vissel, where he would join up with former Barca duo Andres Iniesta and David Villa.

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'}); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport staff'); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'fe61d5c9-68db-4ddb-b6a3-f4b4e44bef76'); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:world'); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story'); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite'); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null); ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football'); ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Samper set for Barca exit'});