When Inigo Martinez signed for Barcelona in 2023, on a free transfer no less, culers could’ve been forgiven for thinking that he was just another stop-gap option as the Catalans continued to get to grips with La Liga’s stringent Financial Fair Play rules.
A foot injury not long after signing delayed his debut but also meant that he was initially fifth choice behind the likes of Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen.
When the Dane got injured new coach, Hansi Flick, gave Martinez an opportunity, and it’s one that he gleefully took with both hands.
His partnership with Cubarsi flourished against the odds, with both players complementing each other.
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The youngster, already a brilliant defender in his own right, will surely have learned a lot from the elder statesman of the defence, particularly with regards to leadership and commitment.
For all of the wonderful football that Barcelona play there’s always room in the team for a warrior, and that’s precisely what Martinez was.
No airs and graces and not trying to be something he wasn’t. Just a good old-fashioned centre-back, and a very, very good one at that.
A measure of how much he’s beloved today by supporters of the club can be seen by the outpouring of shock on social media regarding his surprising move to the Saudi Pro League.
Flick has already noted that it’s something he could’ve done without, and the expectation after the superb season he had in 2023/24 has to be that both he and Cubarsi would again have been the centre-back pairing of choice, even with everyone else now fit and raring to go.
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Just how much he will be missed will be seen within a few weeks of the 2025/26 La Liga campaign starting.
His calming and authoritative presence at the back has yet to be replicated by any others in situ and that could be the biggest miss of all.
Though his reasons for leaving the club would appear to be purely financial, and that’s more than a little disappointing, one can still understand why he’s chosen such a path at this late stage of his career.
After confounding the critics at Barca he deserves to see out the rest of his career wherever he wishes.
Culers can be both happy and sad at the turn of events too. Sad because Barca have lost a titan of a centre-back, but happy that they saw some fine performances to help the club to a domestic treble.
Thank you, Inigo. Go well.