BARCELONA -- Barcelona are preparing to offer Andres Iniesta a new deal and have said the midfielder will be welcome to stay at the club for as long as he wants.
Earlier this week, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirmed that Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi were expected to sign contract renewals in the New Year.
And sporting director Robert Fernandez said 32-year-old Iniesta was likely to be the next in line.
The Barca captain's current terms, signed in 2013, are due to expire in 2018 when he will be 34, but the club hope he will stay at Camp Nou beyond then.
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, Fernandez said: "Of course we're studying a new deal [for Iniesta]. There are players that will be here until they want to be here: Iniesta, Messi..."
Director of professional sports Albert Soler said on Thursday that the club had organised "six signings, eight departures, five loans and three contract renewals (Sergio Busquets, Javier Mascherano and Neymar)" over the summer.
Soler reaffirmed Bartomeu's comments that the contracts of Rakitic and Suarez would be dealt with after Christmas, with Messi and Iniesta likely to follow suit.