Marc Bernal has agreed a new contract with Barcelona despite seeing his season ended by a ruptured ACL, sources have confirmed to ESPN.
Bernal, 17, will sign a deal until 2026 which will be extendable by an additional three seasons, until 2029, when he turns 18, which is the age when players can pen longer terms in Spain.
The midfielder will receive a significant pay increase, in line with a clause that would have been triggered when he played 15 first-team games, and his release clause will also rise from €20 million ($22m) to ward off interest from other clubs.
Sources did not confirm to how much, but Barça have acted quickly in that regard after losing striker Marc Guiu to Chelsea for his €6m clause in the summer after giving him first-team exposure last season.
Bernal had been one of the standout performers during Barça's first three games of the new campaign before the ACL injury effectively ended his season in the win at Rayo Vallecano last month.
The Spain youth international, who was playing at the base of the midfield, will undergo surgery on the rupture this week
Despite that, sources told ESPN that Barça wanted to accelerate plans to improve Bernal's contract and reinforce their commitment to him at a difficult moment in his young career.
Born in 2007, Bernal first joined Barça in 2014 and was part of the same youth team as Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí, progressing through the academy before making his first team debut against Valencia in August.
