As expected, Barcelona's Carles Puyol will be signing a contract extension on Tuesday to remain at the club for three more years.

UPDATE: Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 11:55 a.m. ET by Timothy Rapp

The contract is signed, folks. The team tweeted out the following photo to seal the deal:

#PHOTOCaptain @carles5puyol extends his contract with FC Barcelona through June 30 of 2016 twitter.com/FCBarcelona/st…

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 22, 2013

---End of Update---

The team released the following statement:

On Tuesday afternoon, Captain Carles Puyol will sign a contract extension with FC Barcelona that will keep him at the Club through June 30 of 2016. The signing ceremony, which will start at 17.00, will take place at Club offices. 

Just as it was announced on December 18, Carles Puyol will extend his contract (which was due to expire this summer) with the Club for three years. It’s worth noting that Puyol’s contract extension was announced along with Xavi and Messi's.

One player of note who will not be committing to a new contract is keeper Victor Valdes, who said he will leave the club after his contract is up in 2014.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Surely, this extension means that Puyol will close his career playing for the Catalan side, whom he has played for since 1999. Already 34, it's amazing to think of Puyol playing out the duration of his new contract, let alone continuing on after that.

It's good to see a Barca mainstay end where everything started. He's long been one of the sturdiest central defenders in the world, and has been an instrumental part of the Spain national team that has completely dominated international football for the past decade.

Puyol has found himself becoming a bit injury-prone in the past year or so, but he's still a hugely important figure in a Barcelona side that looks primed to win a La Liga and possibly Champions League title this season.

And maybe a few more over the next three years, too.