Last week Inigo Martinez took the shock decision to leave Barcelona in favor of a move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr. The departure of the 34-year-old is a huge help for the Catalans in their attempt to register Joan Garcia and Marcus Rashford, although it means that Hansi Flick has lost one of his regular starters of last season.
Barcelona is planning to sell one of their central defensive options this summer, but it was believed that the choice was between Ronald Arajo and Andreas Christensen. There were no indications that Martinez would leave, but it turned out that it had been in the pipeline for at least a few weeks.
According to MD, a deal was set in motion during the pre-season tour of Barcelona through Japan and South Korea, where Al-Nassr officials traveled to Seoul to hold conversations. And instead of being the Catalan club that made the move, the negotiations were turned on by the player himself.
The decision of Martinez to surprise Barcelona, especially Flick and sports director Deco, who had both brought both to the veteren defender in the first team team for the 2025-26 season. The idea was that other sales were made to alleviate the club's financial misery, but in the end they were not necessary – for now.
As it looks now, Barcelona will be confronted with the new campaign with only four senior center-back options: Pau Cubarsi, Araujo, Christensen and Eric Garcia. The departure of Martinez could have an enormous influence on the success that Flick's side has in the coming 12 months, although that could change if a replacement would be signed before the summer transfer window closes at the beginning of September.