The Fans Football Blog3

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain has already met eight times over the last weeks with Iván Corretja, the agent of Barcelona attacking midfielder and Spanish international Xavi (28), but that a deal is nevertheless not anywhere near at this stage.

The Catalan midfielder wants a pay rise and although Xavi would have accepted that he won't earn as much as team-mates like Messi, Eto'o or Henry but by demanding 7 million euro plus incentives a year he would like to be close behind those players. Both parties nevertheless agree that the extension will be for another four years, until 2014.

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Corretja has met only twice with Barcelona officials and that Xavi wants to be at the second level of Barcelona earners, behind Messi. While Xavi has at least one big offer from a European top club, the positions of the two parties wouldn't be getting nearer to each other.

The paper claims that Barcelona president Joan Laporta has talked with Xavi last Friday to deny the rumour that Barcelona would have considered to sell the player last summer in order to buy Arsenal midfielder Cesc (read more here).

Asked about the renewal negotiations, Laporta said this weekend to journalists that the club wants the player to continue: "We would like him to continue playing for us for many years. He's one of our captains and a key player for the team. He's a homegrown player and we try to make him feel as comfortable as possible. We appreciate Xavi a lot. I have a special relationship with him because it's a player that I like a lot. I have said that since my first season at the club. I remember the great season he had in 2003-2004 and he kept his level since then."

Read more:
Arsenal, Liverpool and Juventus monitor Xavi talks
Barcelona makes official statement on Xavi
Xavi renewal talks advancing slowly