The 30-year-old Milito, whose contract still had a year to run, joined Barca from Real Zaragoza in 2007 but he was limited to only 75 appearances for the Catalan giants, with a serious knee injury suffered in the 2008 Champions League semi-finals sidelining him for over 18 months.

A statement on the Barcelona website read: "Barcelona and Gabriel Milito have reached an agreement to release the Argentinian, whose contract expires on June 30, 2012."

Milito will be plying his trade at Independiente next season after agreeing a deal to return to his former club.

The centre-back has signed a three-year contract with the Argentinian outfit, where he began his career and played for six seasons prior to moving to Zaragoza in 2003.

"It's a very emotional day for me. I have many fond memories of Independiente," said Milito on Independiente's website.