"Villarreal and Valencia have reached an agreement under which Carlos Marchena will form part of the squad for the next three seasons," Villarreal said on their website.

Marchena, 31, followed David Villa and David Silva out of the Mestalla after the Spain duo had joined Barcelona and Manchester City respectively.

The center-half ended a nine-year spell with Los Ches, following his move from Benfica in 2001.