Spain: Barcelona goalkeeper considers a move over contract difficulties

(REUTERS/Andrea Comas)

Barcelona have been warned that goalkeeper Victor Valdes may consider leaving the club if talks over a new contract are not forthcoming.

The 27-year-old's current deal runs out at the end of next season and his agent, Gines Carvajal, is anxious for negotiations for a new deal to get underway as soon as possible.

He told the Spanish media: "For eight months, nothing has been said about the renewal. Victor and I are only thinking about Barca. But he is an extraordinary goalkeeper who is good enough to play for Barcelona and I know that there are four or five clubs looking for goalkeepers."

Espanyol forward Luis Garcia has urged his team-mates to continue believing that they can escape the threat of relegation from La Liga.

The Barcelona-based club currently prop up the table and are eight points short of the safety mark with just ten league games of the season to play.

However, a combative Garcia told AS: "I hope that the other teams think that we are dead, because when you think a lion is dead, it bites and wins the fight. Espanyol will never give up because we have a coach and a squad that believe in our chances, while the fans and the club are going to help us to keep going.

"Football is being unfair to us, because no team has been better than us and we could have won far more games."

Elsewhere, Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque admitted that his side had been pushed hard in their 1-0 win at home to Turkey in their latest World Cup qualifier.

Gerard Pique’s first goal for his country made it five win out of five in Group Five, with the reigning European champions already well on course for South Africa in 2010.

"It was a tough game because they played very well and offered a lot of resistance," Del Bosque said. "It wasn't as easy as on other occasions, but we deserved this win just as much. We controlled them well, albeit not with our usual style. They also had their chances to score, but we handled their pressure well enough.

"In the second half, we changed our style, even before the goal. We had more depth and better control. Our lack of fluency in the first half was down to fatigue, but also because Turkey played very well, for which they must be praised."