Abidal Contract Renewal Up Next..............

Barcelona are on the verge of handing French defenderEric Abidal a contract extension that will see him remain at Camp until 2012, according to Sport.

Talks have been ongoing between the two parties to extend his current deal for one year and it is believed that they are now close to an agreement.

Abidal signed a four year deal when he joined from Lyon in 2007. A five year deal has increased tax implications for foreign players in Spain and as a result the club opted for a renegotiation after the fourth year, in order to maintain the same terms as the player currently enjoys.

In fact, the new deal will see improvements in the players terms as coach Pep retains faith in the French star, despite the arrival of Maxwell from Inter. Abidal's buy-out clause in the new deal is believed to be in the region of €90 million.

Club officials are hoping that the finalising of Abidal's new deal will be followed by the completion of agreements between the club and Andres Iniesta, Rafael and Carles Puyol.