We Have Secured The Future Of Barcelona - Txiki Begiristain

Barcelona technical secretary Txiki Begiristain has expressed his delight at seeing a host of the first team sign new contracts with the club over the past few months.

Lionel Messi, Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes, Yaya Toure, Pedro, Eric Abidal and, most recently, Andres Iniesta have all committed their futures to the Spanish champions, and Begiristain is proud of the club's work.

"After the success of last season, it was very important to resolve the contract renewals of some players who were close to the end of their deals," he explained to the club's official website.

"It was done with Toure, Valdes, Messi, Puyol and Pedro, and now with Abidal and Iniesta. With this we have secured the sporting future of the first team."

Begiristain then lauded Iniesta, who signed his new contract this week, and believes there are few better midfielders anywhere in the world.

"The club wanted to be fair to the players who deserved [contract extensions], as was the case with Iniesta. Barcelona have retained a young, top quality player - one of the best midfielders in the world."

He then touched on the subject of Gabriel Milito, who recently returned to action for the Blaugrana in a friendly match after 20 months out with injury.

The Argentine has been named in the Blaugrana's squad for the Club World Cup, and Begiristain believes that his recovery has negated the need for the club to dip into the transfer market in January.

"Since Milito has recovered, we can forget about the problem that we could have in the centre of the pitch during the African Cup of Nations.

"In other positions we will have to see if there is any need. We are assessing every member of the squad. The ideal thing is not to buy anyone."