Pep Guardiola has paid tribute to Gerard Pique after the defender signed a three-year extension to his contract.
Pique had already been on a long-term deal with Barcelona but his performances have been so impressive of late that they were keen to extend his stay at Camp Nou.
The former Manchester United centre-back, 23, is now tied to Barcelona until June 2015, while his release clause has been quadrupled to a staggering 200million euros.
Yaya Toure, Victor Valdes, Pedro, Lionel Messi, Carles Puyol, Eric Abidal,
Andres Iniesta, Rafael Marquez and Jeffren have already signed new contracts this season and Guardiola is thrilled to add Pique's name to that list.
"I do not believe that there is any other player in Europe playing at his level at his age," said Guardiola.
"He is very competitive and ambitious. He is strong in the air and dominates at set-pieces."
Historic decisionGuardiola praised technical secretary Txiki Begiristain for instigating and pushing through the transfer of Pique from United for a mere 8million euros
"It was a historic decision that deserves respect," he added. "Txiki was really brilliant. We now have a central defender for years to come."
Pique could not hide his delight after penning the contract and is now hungry for more silverware.
"I am delighted to be staying," said the player. "It seems like a long time to look ahead and that makes me happy.
"Now I want to continue winning. The feeling of winning is unbeatable. Now we have to look ahead to more great things."
Pique set for contract extensionEast notes: Crew defender blogs about trip
