V. Iaquinta extended contract with "Udinese" © EuroFootball.com

The forward of the Italian national team has settled disputes with (club name) and signed a new contract that will be valid until 2009. The player's previous contract was supposed to end two years earlier, in 2007.

Having made a name for himself in Europe by scoring three goals against "Panathinaikos" in his Champions League debut, the 25-year-old Iaquinta soon rejected the club's offer to extend his contract and demanded a higher salary. As a result, "Udinese" expelled him from the team for two weeks and did not register him for matches.

Without their leader, Udinese started to perform poorly - they suffered three consecutive defeats in the Italian championship, and were heavily beaten by "Barcelona" in the Champions League. Meanwhile, Iaquinta faced the risk of losing his place in the Italian national team, so on Wednesday a compromise was finally reached and the forward returned to the team for the weekend match against "Lazio".

Today, Iaquinta officially signed a new contract with the club, under which he will earn almost twice as much per season as before. However, according to the Italian press, Iaquinta could still be sold in January - it is speculated that "Barcelona" is interested in him, as they tried to acquire the striker last year, and he is also linked to several Italian clubs.