Barcelona have announced that goalkeeper Inaki Pena has penned a new long-term contract.
The second-choice stopper is a long-term servant at Camp Nou, starting his stint in the youth setup in 2012 and going on to represent the senior squad.
Much of his time has been spent out of the spotlight, the 24-year-old only linking up with the first-team group for 2022-23 and making three appearances in cup competitions.
However, the club and player have signalled their intent to continue their relationship by agreeing terms until 2026.
Iñaki Peña 2026! 💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/2iinUjNe6I
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 9, 2023
Barcelona have also revealed that Pena's buy-out clause has been set at €400m (£347.45m), a stance that is customary with the majority of their senior players.
Despite the commitment, Pena will remain as deputy to Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who has been number one at the Catalan giants since 2016.
Pena's three outings during the current campaign have all been in low-profile fixtures, his debut coming in a Champions League dead-rubber at Viktoria Plzen.
The former Spain Under-21 international then went onto make two starts in the Copa del Rey at CF Intercity and AD Ceuta FC.
© Reuters
Prior to being included in Xavi's plans, Pena spent time on loan at Galatasaray last season, featuring on eight occasions in all competitions.
With Barcelona on the brink of winning La Liga with four matches to spare, it is plausible that Pena will make his league debut over the coming weeks.
Extending Pena's contract rather than signing a new number two is beneficial to Barcelona as they bid to put no extra strain on their wage bill by signing squad members who are unlikely to play on a regular basis.
La Liga president Javier Tebas has previously claimed that Barcelona must make £177m in cutbacks before they can consider signing fresh faces for next season.
Darren Plant
