OFFICIAL: Barcelona Sign David Villa From Valencia

Reigning Spanish champions Barcelona have completed the transfer of prolific hitman David Villa from fellow La Liga outfit Valencia for a fee of €40 million, according to the Catalan club's official website.

The striker will sign a four-year deal at his new club, with an option for a fifth, upon the successful completion of a medical on Friday morning.

Long Time Coming

The Spanish international was continually being linked with a move away from Valencia in the past couple of weeks and a transfer only appeared to be a matter of time when Barcelona president Joan Laporta confirmed earlier this week that negotiations between Barcelona and Valencia were ongoing.

Both parties have now reached an agreement about the transfer of the highly rated attacker, as Valencia confirmed on their official website on Wednesday, and Villa will ply his trade at Barcelona next term.

Pedigree

Villa joined Valencia from Real Zaragoza in the summer of 2005 and has since developed into one of the best strikers around in the Primera Division. The 28-year-old has so far scored 109 league goals in 166 appearances.

Repercussions

The arrival of Villa could very well mean the end of Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the Catalan powerhouse. The former Inter star has failed to find his best form at Barcelona since joining the club last summer and has been linked with a move away from the Spanish champions more than once in the past couple of weeks.

On Form

Villa has been in superb form all season and currently sits sixth in the Castrol Rankings.

This season in La Liga Villa hit 21 goals in 31 starts and one substitute appearance. This, while being a far cry from his 28 in 33 the previous year, still renders him the fourth-highest goalscorer in Spain in 2009-10.

Furthermore Villa is a seasoned international, picking up 36 goals in 55 caps over the past five seasons. He is likely to overtake Raul as Spain's top goalscorer of all time in the coming years.