Carles Puyol has expressed a desire to remain at Barcelona beyond his new contract.
Barca captain wants to remain at the club after new deal expires
Carles Puyol has expressed a desire to remain at Barcelona beyond his new contract which expires in June 2013.
The Barca captain only signed his new deal last week but is already targeting a longer stay with the Spanish champions.
The defender has been a mainstay of the team ever since he made his first-team debut in October 1999 when he burst onto the scene initially as a right-back.
The 31-year-old led the club to an unprecedented treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League last season and wants nothing more than to remain at the club for life.
"I have signed a deal with Barca until June 2013 but my idea is to fulfil that and to help the squad more than this date," he told
TV3.
"I am very happy with the contract because it is significant to finish an adventure that began in the youth team."
Puyol also believes that this season's title race will go down to the wire with Real Madrid's millions closing the gap on the two clubs that was so evident last term.
Equal
"This league will be very equal," he added. "Real Madrid possess a good squad and they have players who can win a match in a single moment.
"Real will be a hard rival for us and I am convinced they will be near the top of the table."
Despite winning just twice in their last five games, Puyol insists Barca have not suffered a dip in form and highlights that the team are desperate to bounce back from another draw, this time against Osasuna at the weekend.
"We are not in a crisis," he stated. "It is certain that some matches there were not too many positives for us but Barca has the capacity to react.
"Our objective this week in the Champions League is to win in Russia (against Rubin Kazan). The defeat to Rubin Kazan was unexpected but we are the champions of Europe and we are expected to win."
Meanwhile fellow defender Dani Alves has recovered quicker than expected from a thigh injury to be considered for the trip to Russia.
Barca sit top of the group on goal difference with four points, ahead of Dynamo Kiev and Kazan, both also on four points and Inter who only have three.
