Pique agrees new Barcelona deal

The defender's contract was due to expire in 2015 but the 27-year-old has handed the Blaugrana a post-season boost by committing his future to the club

Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique has reached an agreement over a contract renewal which will tie him to the Catalan club until 2019.

The Blaugrana announced via their official website that the 27-year-old will put pen to paper on the new deal in the coming days.

The news comes a day after Lionel Messi signed an improved deal with the Catalan giants - who also hired former midfielder Luis Enrique as their new coach on Monday.

Pique's previous contract had been due to expire at the end of next season but is now under contract for the next five years.

The 27-year-old has spent the vast majority of his career at Camp Nou, having initially spent time in the club's youth setup.

He was signed by Manchester United as a teenager but failed to establish himself in the first team and spent a year on loan at Zaragoza.

However, he returned to Barca in 2008 and has been a key figure in the club's success in the six seasons since then.

The Spain international has played 266 games for the club, winning four La Liga titles, the Copa del Rey twice and two Champions League trophies.

However, Barca only managed to win the Supercopa de Espana this campaign as the club failed to live up to their own high standards under Gerardo Martino - who departed upon the campaign's conclusion.

They were beaten by Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final while they were eliminated from the Champions League by Atletico Madrid at the quarter-final stage.

Atleti also denied Barca back-to-back domestic titles by winning La Liga at Camp Nou on Saturday thanks to a 1-1 draw.