Defender Muniesa renews Stoke contract till 2019

Stoke City defender Marc Muniesa has signed a new four-year contract with the Premier League club.

In an announcement on Friday, Stoke City announced that the 23-year-old centre-back had agreed to a contract extension, adding two more years onto the two remaining on his current deal, which he signed upon his arrival to the club in 2013.

Bojan, Ibrahim Afellay, Marc Muniesa and youngster Moha El Ouriachi have swapped the Nou Camp for life at the Britannia in the last two summers and that’s piqued much curiosity.

Stoke City will start the 2014-2015 English Premier League season on Sunday in a home tie against Liverpool.

Fortunately, Off The Ball’s European football correspondent Graham Hunter was on hand tonight to give us an explanation – and as he says, it’s not just because manager Mark Hughes once played at Barcelona. It’s not easy to leave a club of the stature of Barcelona, you have to have a real strength of character to concede that you’re going to shut the door on maybe a dream that you’ve had for a long, long time and go on another path.

“He came here, to another good club, has been patient and worked incredibly hard”.

“He is getting stronger month by month”.

“But it was always going to be his talent that forced him into my thinking. And he’s a nice guy, engaging around the group, always plays with a smile on his face, so we are delighted that’s been sorted”.