Agreement closed: Iñigo Martínez will stay for one more year at FC Barcelona

Iñigo Martínez will continue to be a player for FC Barcelona, at least until June 30, 2026. The board and the defender discussed the terms of his contract extension this week, activating the renewal clause stipulated after his signing in the summer of 2023. If the '5' played at least 60% of the official matches in the 2024-25 season, he was guaranteed to stay one more year with the azulgrana team.

So far, the player from Ondarroa has accumulated 52 official appearances with Barça (2 goals and 2 assists) and, after a rather irregular debut season under Xavi Hernández, he has regained his best form with Hansi Flick on the bench. In that sense, the club's commitment to his continuity is fully justified by the performance of the Basque during the first half of the season.

Iñigo took on the responsibility of covering for the absences of Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen, becoming the ideal partner for Pau Cubarsí in the heart of the defense. In total, he accumulated 2,316 minutes of action in 27 of the 28 matches played by Barça until the final of the Supercopa de España, where he got injured in the first half.

Iñigo Martínez, ready to regain his starting position at Barça

Fortunately for Hansi Flick, his absence coincided with Araujo's return, who has come back to the XI to gradually regain competitive rhythm. In the press conference prior to the match against Alavés, the coach confirmed Martínez's return, a pleasant surprise as he has managed to overcome his injury to the right hamstring two weeks earlier than expected.

Initially, it is likely that the player from Ondarroa will be included in the squad for the match of matchday 22 of LaLiga, but he will not be in the starting lineup until Thursday against Valencia, for the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey. With that said, once his future is resolved, Iñigo is ready to fight mano a mano with Ronald for the starting position, with a slight advantage for the Basque due to the prolonged inactivity of the 'charrúa'. The '4', however, has looked good against Benfica and Atalanta in the Champions League, although Eric García was a starter last week against the 'che' team.