Iñigo Martínez takes a position on Catalan independence.

BarcelonaHe left Barça this summer to start an adventure in Saudi football, but continues to bring joy to a large part of Barcelona fans. Iñigo Martínez, who went viral during the last La Liga celebrations because he waved an Estelada flag from the open-top bus that toured the streets of Barcelona, ​​​​has given an interview to The Big Game from Cadena Cope. Questioned precisely about this sequence, the Ondarroa center-back has disassociated his political ideas, which favor self-determination, from the times he has played for the Spanish national team: "One thing has nothing to do with the other. It's one thing for me to think that the ideal is for a people to be free to govern their territory and for me to be on the national team. If that were the case, I would have refused to go since I started going when I was under twenty."

Iñigo has been a full international 21 times with the red, but in recent years he has prioritized club football. Luis de la Fuente called him up for the international break last March, although the player cited knee discomfort that raised suspicions within the RFEF, where it was understood that behind the minor injury was, in fact, a supposed lack of motivation. There is some truth in this interpretation, as Martínez, despite being grateful to be in the national team's plans, has recently preferred to disconnect with his wife and three children during the breaks and rely on doctors and recovery specialists to be at 100 percent when he played for Athletic Bilbao and also in the last two years at Barça. Now, in Saudi Arabia, Iñigo continues to accept with good grace that he won't play in a World Cup at 35 despite being one of the best Spanish center backs at the moment. Oh, and he will also continue to speak Basque with his family in Riyadh, the headquarters of the club that currently pays him, Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nasr.

Regarding his surprising departure from Barça, Iñigo admitted that he didn't dare tell Hansi Flick: "I took him on the plane [back from the tour to Barcelona]. I know I was a key player for him, and when I left, the puzzle fell apart a bit for him [...] I have a lot of affection for him. He believed in me when he arrived." The Biscayan center-back also spoke about Lamine Yamal, with whom he shared two seasons during the young talent's maturation process: "I wouldn't have been ready to perform at the level he's doing because of his age. Lamine isn't aware of the burden he's carrying. He practically has to pull Barça up himself. It will weigh on him. He's got his head on straight and is quite controlled." Iñigo added that Lamine Yamal saw him "as a father, as a role model" in the Barça dressing room. This fits in with what other young players trained at La Masia say about him.