Carles Puyol announces decision to leave Barcelona

Puyol, 35, has played for Barcelona since 1995 but has only made a handful of appearances in La Liga this campaign as injuries continue to take their toll on his body.

"I want to thank everyone at the club for everything they've done for me," the defender, who will be 36 in April, said at a press conference.

"The reason for this meeting is to communicate that this will be my final season playing for Barcelona.

"Since the last surgeries I have not been able to get to the level of before.

"I will never stop helping my team-mates and, when the season is over, we will see what we'll do. I'll give a press conference at the end of the campaign to answer any questions you may have."

That statement appears to be hinting that the centre-back may quit the game in the summer.

Barca's captain for a decade, Puyol has won 15 major trophies with the Catalan club, including three Champions League titles and three Champions Leagues.

Puyol has also played 100 times for Spain, winning the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championships in 2008.

But he missed Spain's Euro 2012 triumph with a knee injury, signalling the start of a decline that saw him omitted from the national team squad this week.