The Catalan name that Iñigo Martínez and his wife have chosen for their son born in Barcelona
The player, who left Catalonia last summer, remains linked to the land that welcomed him
That Iñigo Martínez fell in love with FC Barcelona is evident, and there are several signs that confirm it. A single image, a gesture, or a word is enough to prove it, and the former Basque player has shown on several occasions that his short but intense spell at Can Barça left an important mark, both on him and his family. He left Catalonia last summer to start an adventure in Saudi football, but Iñigo continues to leave small gestures in the land that welcomed him. Among the most remembered from the past is the image that went viral: during the celebrations of the last League title, he waved an Estelada flag from the open-top bus that paraded through the streets of Barcelona to celebrate the titles of League, Copa del Rey, and Spanish Super Cup won last season. A gesture that, beyond the controversy, was as sincere as it was assertive, and for which it generated much buzz.
And not only that. In subsequent interviews, such as the one he gave a few months ago to El partidazo on Cope radio, Martínez defended the freedom and right to self-determination of peoples when asked about the Estelada gesture.
Now, far from the media spotlight and European pitches, the news is no longer a statement or a symbolic gesture: it is a name. And not just any name. It is the one that the footballer and his wife Nerea have chosen for their youngest son, born in Barcelona during his time at the Blaugrana club.
The son's name, Iñigo Martínez's latest gesture
After two daughters named with Basque roots, Nikole and Paule, Iñigo and his partner have opted for a name that sounds familiar on the streets of Barcelona and Catalonia. The child, who has just turned one year old, is named Pol.
This decision, in such an intimate context as the family, says a lot, as it reveals the influence that Catalonia and the Catalan language had on Iñigo and his family. During his time at Barça, the player discovered not only a club but also a space of comfort and belonging, similar to what he had found before at Real Sociedad and Athletic Club in his native Euskadi. A clear reflection of how the city and the country have left their mark on a player who, despite being Basque, has learned to love and integrate into our land.