Barcelona exercise option to renew Alex Collado's contract

Barcelona have exercised their option to automatically renew the contract of Alex Collado through to 2023, which contains a release clause of 100 million euros.

The captain of Barcelona B is one of the hottest prospects on the books of the Catalan club, and now he aims to prove that he can make it in the first team.

The 21-year-old took part in the first team's pre-season training last summer under Ronald Koeman and impressed.

Collado will become a first team player from June 1 this year, and then it will be up to Koeman to decide whether he will stay in the squad or will be loaned out to gain experience.

He made his debut for Barcelona's seniors under Ernesto Valverde on Matchday 36 of the 2018/19 LaLiga Santander season against Celta Vigo at Balaidos, playing 86 minutes.

Last season, he got a short runout against Valencia, but this season he still hasn't had any minutes, despite being called up for three games.

Progression at Barcelona

With Barcelona B, Collado has played a total of 77 games in which he has scored 16 goals.

His strike in the 2019/20 season against Levante Atletico at Estadio Johan Cruyff was chosen by the fans as the best goal of the season in the entire third tier of Spanish football.

The attacking midfielder arrived at La Masia as a U11 player and has since passed through all the youth categories of Barcelona, right up to the first team.