Barcelona have announced the signing of defender Inigo Martinez on a free transfer from Athletic Bilbao.
The centre-back’s contract with the Basque club expired at the end of June and he has now sealed a move to the Camp Nou on a two-year deal until the summer of 2025.
Martinez, 32, had been linked with a switch to Barcelona in January and the club have now confirmed his arrival.
Nobody:
Absolutely nobody:
Iñigo Martinez: 👐👅
We've got a new culer in town 🔥 pic.twitter.com/HCzNrHKOcf
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 5, 2023
Martinez made more than 200 appearances for Real Sociedad after coming through their youth ranks, before joining Athletic Bilbao in 2018 after the club paid his €32million release clause.
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He went on to make 177 appearances — including 18 in all competitions last season.
Martinez has won 20 caps for Spain, most recently in March, but did not feature in Luis de la Fuente’s squad for last month’s European Qualifiers.
Barcelona missed out on Lionel Messi this summer after their former star opted to join Inter Miami, but head coach Xavi has lured Ilkay Gundogan from Manchester City on a free transfer.
La Liga last month approved the champions’ economic viability plan, allowing them register new contracts for Ronald Araujo and Gavi, but they are still operating under financial constraints.
The club remain over their salary limit and can only spend 40 per cent of whatever they raise through sales and loans on new signings.
Why have Barca gone for Martinez?
Analysis by Dermot Corrigan
Martinez is a very experienced, ball-playing Spanish international centre-back, seen as a ‘market opportunity’ given he was available on a free transfer.
Xavi pushed to sign the former Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao defender 12 months ago, believing he has the technical and tactical standard for Barca’s possession-based style of play, along with physical strength and aggressiveness the team required.
The club instead signed Marcos Alonso last year, and the ex-Chelsea left-back struggled when he was played in the middle of the back four. Jordi Alba’s exit means Alonso can now return to his more usual position, and Martinez will join Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde as the four CB options.
How can they afford his wages?
As with everything to do with Barca’s finances over recent years, that’s a tricky question to answer.
The Blaugrana board raised over €700million by pulling one-off financial ‘levers’ last summer, and big earning players Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Alba and Samuel Umtiti have since left, but board members still had to give personal guarantees worth €6.7million ahead of the end of the club’s financial year last week.
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Barca in theory can find the money to sign more players, but must persuade La Liga of the ‘viability’ of their plans. The expectation is that new contracts agreed with Araujo, Gavi, Sergi Roberto, Alonso and Inaki Pena will soon be approved.
However, adding new players beyond that remains problematic — so more players will have to leave before Martinez (and Gundogan) can be registered.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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