The truth about the departure of Iñigo Martínez, the Barça captain without a club armband.

BarcelonaThe arrival of Anderson Luis de Souza, Deco, on Barça's Asian tour, marked a turning point. The Barça sporting director had missed the first match against Vissel Kobe, but was called up on the other side of the planet to join the expedition ahead of the other two friendlies in South Korea. One of the reasons for the request was to bring peace between the squad and the board following the inconveniences of a trip that began 24 hours later than planned. Hansi Flick had informed Joan Laporta that discomfort of the footballers and thestaff with an inadequate plan for preparing for the start of the school year, with too many coach journeys and infrastructure in need of improvement, so it was welcomed that Deco made the trip to calm things down.

But the former player's appearance had another underlying purpose: to speed up the transfer window in parallel with the dispute with Marc-André ter Stegen over the registration of Joan Garcia. Even outside the 1:1 rule, he was tasked with continuing to free up too much salary to register new signings. To that end, he had on his agenda to cash in on Andreas Christensen, whose fantastic performance against Seoul he applauded in the hope that a buyer would appear to take him. However, once back in Barcelona, he had to make things easier for Iñigo Martínez, one of the mainstays of last season, to say goodbye. The Biscayan centre-back waited until he returned from the tour to inform him that he had an offer from Al Nassr. He handled the matter in complete silence, from the first call while the Barça team was still in Japan until the terms were finalized with the multimillion-dollar Saudi club. While his teammates slept at night, he negotiated with the help of a trusted agent, José Tudela. None of the teammates knew anything until the plane returned to Barcelona. The first to find out about the bombshell were Dani Olmo and Hansi Flick. They received it mid-flight.

The news arrived in the middle of the return flight

The German coach took the news with resignation, but understood that Iñigo had earned the right to decide his future. He didn't try to convince him despite being aware that without him it will be difficult to maintain the defensive risk of last season. Already in Barcelona, the former Athletic Club player sat down with Deco at the Joan Gamper Sports City. The meeting lasted less than 10 minutes and served to secure the player's freedom without having to pay a transfer fee. He has only had to forgive some amounts derived from the contracts negotiated by his uncle Carmelo Sánchez, who died two months ago, first with Mateu Alemany and then with Deco.

To understand the move, we must go back to the renewal he signed in mid-March until June 30, 2026. With this agreement, Barça rewarded Iñigo's good performance and apparently protected itself against the possibility of him leaving for free if someone, especially with petrodollars in hand, decided to leave. But months later, with the fair play Overstretched, a mix of common sense and urgency has prevailed. The common sense stemmed from Iñigo's specialty, center back, a position that Deco himself had set out to depopulate, while the urgency arose from the problems with registration fees every summer and presented a bargain for the millionaire Saudi football.

In this scenario, Al Nassr's proposal was presented as an opportunity for Barça, who have not put up any resistance to a starter leaving for free. The recent renewal, the fact that he was a captain without an armband in the locker room and a key piece for Flick, has mattered little. The opportunity was golden to cut one of the high-paid players in the squad. This is evident from Laporta's words after the Gamper match this Sunday. "Iñigo arrived as a free agent and we had already talked about the fact that if a situation like this arose, saving his salary could help us with the rules of the fair play financial. I wish him the best of luck," declared the Barcelona president.

An "unrejectable" proposal for Iñigo Martínez's "restless ass"

Iñigo's interests have aligned with those of Deco and Laporta. He agreed to terminate his extended contract in March to commit to the Saudis on the most advantageous terms. Without a transfer, he could have expected an even higher salary with a unilateral termination clause at the end of the first year. Those close to the now former Barça player summarize the offer as "unrejectable," considering that at 34, his career is already twilight. They add: "Iñigo knew that this year he would have struggled to maintain last season's level, so he's leaving at the best time; just when he was most wanted. Besides, he's a restless person." Of course, he had to convince his wife, Nerea, to embark on this adventure in the sweltering Saudi desert.

The deal was announced on Saturday night, and by Sunday afternoon, the Ondarroa native was already in the starting lineup with Cristiano Ronaldo and João Félix in a 3-2 friendly in Almería. He played 70 minutes and, tired, asked Jorge Jesús, his new coach, for a substitution. He arrives to cover for Aymeric Laporte, who is in negotiations to return to Athletic Club. Two intense seasons are behind him, during which he has earned a privileged place in the heart of Barcelona fans. To see this, just visit the comments on the farewell video he recorded, with several phrases in Catalan, demonstrating his sensitivity to stateless languages (he speaks Basque with his children). His now former teammates have said goodbye to a leader with the influence of a captain who didn't need to carry the flag around his arm to cherish the place that has been his home for two years. In Catalonia, a land that has made him happy and will miss him, Iñigo leaves behind friends, broken hearts, investments, and a small yacht he plans to tow by road to the Basque Country. Now he's set to spend a year or two exploring the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. However, there are always ports to dock in the Mediterranean.