Barcelona wants Valdes to stay at Camp Nou

The club's vice-president is hoping the goalkeeper changes his mind following his decision not to renew his contract at Camp Nou

Josep Maria Bartomeu has revealed that Barcelona has no intention of selling Victor Valdes in the summer.

Valdes, who has spent his entire career at Camp Nou, turned down the opportunity to renew his current contract in January, and announced his intention to leave the club when his deal expires in 2014.

The news is rumored to have attracted interest from some of Europe's biggest clubs, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain expressing an interest in the player’s signature.

But the club's vice-president has revealed the Liga leaders do not wish to sell the Spain international in the summer and, if the keeper changes his mind, they will encourage him to stay.

He told Catalunya Radio: "We have been in contact with Valdes to make it very clear that the doors are still open to him staying at the club.

"Because we prioritize footballing matters, we’d rather keep Valdes until the end of the 2014 season than sell him this summer.

"We don’t have a deadline for the Valdes affair. One option would be for him to see out his contract - in which case we wouldn’t sign a keeper."

Barca is also believed to be keen on adding Brazilian star Neymar to their ranks, with Bartomeu admitting the club's interest is real.

"We chose to announce that we were interested in Neymar so that the footballing world would know that Barça wants this player."


/Goal.Com/