Usually a contract extension would signal a show of confidence in a player from a club, but you do wonder if there will be different motivations just now.
The transfer market could be much tougher than usual in the next few years, and that means free agents will suddenly be in demand.
They will be able to demand bigger wages and more clubs will show an interest as they look for cheap ways to improve their squad, so stockpiling players could become even more common.
READ MORE: Real Madrid hope Chelsea’s summer spending will allow them to sign midfielder this summer
Barcelona midfielder Riqui Puig has been spoken about for a while as a top talent, but he barely gets a chance to play and it doesn’t sound like the manager trusts him.
Despite that, Fabrizio Romano has indicated that Barca are about to extend his contract until 2023:
[?] Barcelona is ready to exercise Riqui Puig’s contract until 2023! @FabrizioRomano via @instagram #FCBLive ????
— Hagrid ? (@HagridFCB) June 11, 2020
It’s not clear if this is just a move to protect his value before trying to loan him or even sell him, but it’s hard to see him getting too many chances in the Barca midfield for now.
It’s the one area of the pitch where they have plenty of players and there’s no room for error now with Real Madrid being so close in La Liga, so it will be interesting to see what happens with him in the next couple of years.