The veteran defender has just been given the all clear to return to action after the knee operation that ruled him out of Euro 2012 and his goal now is to resolve the current uncertainty surrounding his future with Barcelona.

"I will try to finish my career here," he told reporters on Tuesday. "I have the desire and the enthusiasm to keep playing and if the club wants me to stay here, I will continue.

"I have always been highly valued by the club and the fans, so there is no problem concerning my renewal in that regard and I don't think it will be a very complicated process."

Puyol is on the verge of a 100th appearance for the national team, a landmark he is keen to reach.

"I feel good and I trained hard, I'm happy that I have been cleared (to return to training)," said the three-time Champions League winner, who was voted best defender at the UEFA Club Football Awards in 2006.

"I still have some pain, we'll go step by step and when I'm at my best again and I'll consider every option (to reach 100 caps)."

Puyol added that new head coach Tito Vilanova has the squad's full backing.

Vilanova was promoted from assistant coaching duties to take the reins at the Camp Nou in wake of Pep Guardiola's decision to step down after leading Barcelona to 14 trophies in four years.

And his replacement is tasked with winning La Liga back from arch-rivals Real Madrid and Puyol is under no illusions on how difficult it will be.

"Well, we need to train and work very hard to try to reach our targets," the 34-year-old defender said.

"The coming days are very important for us as we have to prepare for next season.

"They (Real Madrid) are a very strong team, they make few mistakes and rarely drop points so we need to be at our best if we want to win."

Puyol has also offered Vilanova his support and is adamant everyone has a role to play at the club.

"I think we all are important here," he said. "We trust Tito a lot, he is very valued and we think we'll learn a lot from him
 
"He will do his job and we will do ours. Here we all pull in the same direction and we all have our part to play."