FC Barcelona announced on Wednesday that the left-back Alejandro Balde has extended his contract which will keep him with the Spanish champions till 2028.
Balde’s contract will run till June 28, 2028, with a release clause of €1 billion.
“FC Barcelona and the player Alejandro Balde have reached an agreement for a new contract which will take the player through to 30 June 2028. The buy-out clause is set at 1 billion euros,” the club stated in an official statement.
“The signing of the new contract for the youth team product will take place on Thursday 21 September at 1.15pm CEST at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper will the following agenda: Signature by player and words from president Joan Laporta and from the player Alejandro Balde.”
The 19-year-old made his debut — replacing Jordi Alba who picked up an injury — for the Catalan club during Barcelona's 3-0 defeat against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) on September 21, 2021.
Although the left-back spent most of his time sitting on the bench for the remainder of the season.
However, it was under the leadership of current head coach Xavi Hernandez, that the left-back started to play regularly in the 2022-23 season as he continued to impress the head coach at every given opportunity.
The 19-year-old footballer kept on impressing the coach and has now become the starting left-back as he is rated highly by Xavi.
With his consistent display on the field, Balde soon became a fan favourite.
It must be noted that Manchester City were highly interested in the left-back but all the rumours have now been diminished as Balde signed a new deal.
Earlier, Barcelona beat Royal Antwerp by five goals and got off to a flying start in UCL 2023-24.
A brace by the loane Joao Felix, and goals by Robert Lewandowski, and Gavi including an own-goal by Antwerp's Jelle Bataille helped the Blaugrana record a massive 5-0 win.
Felix is enjoying life at Barcelona, he has scored three goals in just two games and is slowly becoming a key to Xavi's system.
