Valencia have agreed an improved contract for Spain winger Juan Mata which will tie him to the club until 2014, they said in a statement after a board meeting.
The 22-year-old can celebrate in front of his own fans when Deportivo La Coruna visit the Mestalla on Sunday. The club will be looking to improve on fourth place in La Liga.
After a week where he collected his second consecutive World Player of the Year and scored a hat-trick in the King's Cup, Barcelona's Lionel Messi called for coach Pep Guardiola to commit himself to the club beyond the end of the season.
"He can renew his contract when he likes, but I hope he does and that he stays," Messi told reporters. "It's difficult to imagine a Barca without Guardiola."
Barca's Argentine defender Gabriel Milito is close to agreeing a move to Malaga, who have signed five new players so far in the January transfer window, local media have reported.
Third-placed Villarreal, who are unbeaten at the Madrigal, are battling a growing list of injuries ahead of Saturday's visit of Osasuna.
Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David de Gea will have tests on a hand injury picked up in his side's 3-1 King's Cup quarter-final first leg defeat at Real Madrid on Thursday.
"It is a difficult economic situation for the whole of Spanish football, and it is here too," he said. "We are speaking to the president and we think this week or next week there will be a solution, and there won't be any problems."
