Vilanova agrees two-year deal with Barca

Posted Thursday, June 14, 2012 by Supersport.com

Barcelona on Wednesday confirmed that they have agreed a two-year deal with new coach Tito Vilanova and that he will officially put pen to paper on Friday.

Vilanova worked as No 2 to Pep Guardiola who gave up the job at the end of the season after four years in charge.

Vilanova had been in contract talks with the club ever since the April 27 announcement that he would be taking over.

"Barcelona have come to an agreement with Francesc 'Tito' Vilanova. This season's first team assistant manager will be the head coach of FC Barcelona for two seasons, through June 30, 2014," said a club statement.

"Vilanova will sign his new contract this Friday on June 15 at 12:00."

Earlier Wednesday, Madrid-based sports daily Marca said that Vilanova will earn 7 million euros ($8.8m) a year.

Vilanova, 42, played only briefly as a professional in Spain's top flight, notably with Celta Vigo, before turning to coaching at the end of his career and finding his way back to the club of his youth.

He came through Barcelona's youth ranks but after failing to break into the first team he continued his playing career with a number of lower league clubs before retiring in 2002.

He rejoined the Catalans as a youth coach in 2007, helping Barcelona's B side to promotion before becoming Guardiola's No 2 with the first team.

Guardiola won 14 titles in his four seasons in charge, with two Champions League crowns and two Club World Cups adding to three domestic league titles, two Copas del Rey, two European SuperCups and three Spanish SuperCups.