Barcelona to Assist Iñigo Martínez in Finding a New Club

Barcelona to Aid Iñigo Martínez in Securing New Team The Blaugrana Club Plans Ahead for the Next Season, Anticipating the Departure of the Central Defender The player’s federative contract is only for a year, but the private agreement is for two Issues with fair play regulations are influencing Barcelona’s decisions. In their bid to increase salary cap flexibility, the Blaugrana club is considering the departure of Iñigo Martínez next season. This decision is not based on sporting considerations but rather on squad management. With several high-level central defenders in the squad, the former Athletic Bilbao player’s salary is significant, and moreover, the club has no federative commitment if they part ways with Iñigo at the end of the current season.

The presence of Araujo, Kounde, and particularly the stellar emergence of Pau Cubarsí has led Barcelona to view the center of defense as an area to reduce wage expenditure. Not only these players, but it remains to be seen what will happen with Eric Garcia, who is on loan to Girona. In fact, if Iñigo’s departure is confirmed, the club plans for either Martorell or Mika Faye to fill his role in the squad. Recently, Eric has made it clear that he will return to Barcelona “one hundred percent” to start preseason and will decide afterwards based on the level of involvement he anticipates.

In such a scenario, Barcelona believes that offloading Iñigo’s salary, which is around eight million euros gross, is a valid solution in their attempt to return to a one-to-one wage ratio. Not because the Basque player is underperforming on the field, quite the contrary, but because there are other priorities, and there is not the same overcrowding in other areas of the field as there is in the center of defense.

No federative but private bond Last summer, Barcelona’s fair play problems led to Iñigo Martínez and the club committing to only a one-year registration. However, the private contract between the parties is for two years. What does this mean? It means that it will cost the club much less in terms of fair play to offload the defender – it would indirectly impact expenditure, but much less than if he were registered – but they will still have to pay him for the second season. It remains to be seen whether this payment will be in full or a high percentage. The latter would be more feasible if the Basque player were to receive an offer close to or matching what he would earn in a hypothetical second season at Barça. At this point, it should also be noted that his salary for the next season would be higher than the current one, as it was adjusted for fair play reasons.

The option of parting ways with Iñigo, therefore, would still be attractive for Barcelona despite having to pay him for the second year, as that amount would have very little impact in terms of fair play, the club’s major concern.

The club doesn’t want to leave him hanging The club presided over by Joan Laporta will try to assist Iñigo in finding a satisfactory destination. The club will seek a proposal that satisfies the player not only in sporting terms but also economically. The better the offer, the more options there will be to consider whether it is viable to reach an agreement with the former Athletic player to pay him only a portion of the second year, although this is unlikely.

Although a hypothetical departure of Kounde or Araujo could change plans, the truth is that the future of Iñigo, like that of Marcos Alonso, is far from Barcelona. The 32-year-old center-back increased his prominence in November 2023, but a few injuries first and the emergence of Cubarsí later have relegated him to a secondary role. His performance and attitude are highly valued in the dressing room, but at the same time, the club acknowledges that, unfortunately, the fair play situation is uncomfortable for the entity. The player is still unaware of the decision, and the club has not informed him of anything. His intention is to continue, and he is calmly awaiting the remainder of the season to have minutes in decisive moments.