Al Nassr is expected to acquire Barcelona defender Inigo Martinez on a free transfer. Having signed a contract extension in January, the 34-year-old has one year left on his deal with the La Liga team. Barcelona insiders claim that a deal for the defender would remove his $14 million yearly contract from the books, increasing their ability to sign new players.
The Catalan team’s deal with the Basque center-back expires in June 2026, but Barça is prepared to allow him to go as a free agent. According to the source, Barcelona’s sports director, Deco, persuaded the 34-year-old defender to stay despite receiving an alluring offer from the Saudi Pro League last summer.
Although Barcelona wouldn’t receive a direct financial boost from Iñigo’s departure, it would have a sizable wage increase to attract other players. Only 60% of this (8.4m) is anticipated to be used for new arrivals’ pay, as the Catalans continue to spend more than the salary cap established by La Liga.
Barcelona’s Inigo Martinez agrees to a shock move to Al-Nassr
Martinez will travel to the Middle East in what appears to be an unexpected decision that would significantly reduce the pay cost and maybe open the door for Barca to sign Joan Garcia.
Fabrizio Romano has already given the story the “here we go” treatment, suggesting that Martinez has been granted permission by Barca to skip training and complete the transfer. Gerard Romero has stated that Martinez is leaving in a deal costing between €5 and €10 million, while Romano claims that Martinez is ending his contract early.
Barcelona is reportedly open to letting the defender go because they have plenty of center backs and he received a nice offer. In terms of money, it’s definitely a decent agreement for everyone, but Barcelona will undoubtedly lose a true leader who is a real person both on and off the field.
Because Cubarsi recently said that Martinez would be a fine captain, he was predicted to join the captaincy group before the season began. He appears to be leaving for a fresh challenge in the Middle East instead.
