Benfica have beaten Barcelona to land Villarreal fullback Joan Capdevila.

The veteran has signed a two-year deal with the Lisbon giants.

Capdevila has won 57 caps for his country, playing a role in both Spain's victorious Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010, in what has been a highly successful international career.

The 33-year-old is still highly regarded by the national side despite reaching the latter stages of his career, and was still being linked with several big clubs before moving to Lisbon.

Capdevila is likely to fill the void left by Portugal full-back Fabio Coentrao, who joined Real Madrid early in July.