Barcelona renew midfielder Sergi Roberto's contract

File photo of Barcelona's Sergi Roberto (Reuters)

Barcelona: Midfielder Sergi Roberto has signed his contract renewal with Barcelona, a deal that runs until 2022.

The 26-year-old Roberto, who appeared with Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu on Thursday, discussed how he made his dream of playing professional football a reality, reports Efe.

On Barcelona`s team website, Roberto advised young players with similar dreams "to fight, always be patient and never stop working".

Barcelona renewed Roberto`s contract and raised the buyout clause to 500 million euros ($616 million) from 40 million euros ($49.3 million).

The midfielder said he would like to follow in the footsteps of Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol, who either retired with Barça or have spent most of their careers with the Catalan team.