In the upcoming summer transfer window, one of the issues that FC Barcelona will have to deal with is the situation of the defender Inigo Martinez.
The Spaniard arrived in Barcelona only last summer after running out his contract with Athletic Club and had a quite good first season with the Catalan club, although he had to miss a significant amount of playing time because of injuries.
He still has one year left on his Barcelona contract, but there is still some uncertainty on whether he will be in the team’s squad for the upcoming season. This is particularly the case as he was registered only for a single year when he arrived, because of the club’s thin salary limit, and thus will have to be registered again this summer.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the defender himself is quite clear that he is going to stay at the Catalan club, and is not contemplating a change of scenery for now.
However, Barcelona are not quite sure whether they would want to retain the defender, especially considering the fact that Flick would have a surplus of center-backs next season, with Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Christensen, Eric Garcia, and Inigo Martinez all at his disposal.
The former Athletic Club center-back enjoyed a high level of trust from the former head coach, Xavi Hernandez, who particularly valued his leadership quality. His injuries kept him from becoming a more regular starter for the former coach, but it remains to be seen how Flick would value the defender going forward.
But even if Flick and Barcelona decide not to retain Martinez in his squad, Barcelona will have to pay out the remaining part of his contract, which could be a significant problem for the Catalans keeping in view their weak economic position and problems with FFP.