Barca ink Inigo Martinez on free transfer

Barcelona shared today that the defender Inigo Martinez will join the club on a free transfer after his contract with Athletic Club expired.

Iñigo Martínez is the player with the highest percentage of La Liga games as a starter in the 21st Century (with at least 250 appearances): 99.7%, 351 starts in 352 games.

— @OptaJose pic.twitter.com/faWeBrIGw5

— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) July 5, 2023

Inigo signs a 2-year contract with the Catalan team and will compete for a place in the starting squad as the centre-back with Ronald Araújo, Andreas Christensen, Jules Koundé, and Eric García.

More on this topic:

Barcelona fans launch donation campaign to fund Nico Williams deal

Barcelona wanted to add to their squad the defender a year ago, but they failed to reach an agreement with Athletic Club, as the Basque team decided to keep the player for 1 more season despite the risk of him leaving without a transfer fee when his deal expires.

After Martinez’s deal with Athletic expired, that’s exactly what happened as he negotiated his details with Barca and inked a 2-campaign deal.

Inigo is a left-footed centre-back, and that will give the club’s head coach Xavi more options in the defensive end.

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about our new signing, Iñigo Martinez pic.twitter.com/NhzCYywe6s

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 5, 2023