Operation exit! The only one of the 6 reinforcements from 23-24 who aims to stay at Barça

The imminent return of Ílkay Gündogan to Manchester City will confirm the departure of the fourth of the five reinforcements that FC Barcelona incorporated last summer. After ruling out the return of Joao Félix and with Joao Cancelo increasingly distant from returning, only Iñigo Martínez seems to be saved from the Barça 'exit operation', in a market once again marked by the club's financial problems.

The first to leave was, coincidentally, the only one of the reinforcements for the 2023 summer market that represented a net expense. Oriol Romeu, who left Girona in exchange for 3.5 million euros, opted to move back to Montilivi on loan, after a poor season in which he failed to earn a starting position. Both Gündogan and Iñigo landed in Catalonia with a letter of freedom, while the Joaos arrived on loan without a mandatory purchase option.

Barça also hopes to leave Vitor Roque shortly

For his part, the only reinforcement from the last winter market, Vitor Roque, also looks at this point like a sure rule for Barça. Although the culés closed his transfer in 2023 for 40 million euros net, the Brazilian ended up arriving in January at the request of Athletico Paranaense. The adaptation of 'Tigrinho' was not as expected and his future points to Betis, although the operation is quite complex due to Barça's desire to make cash with a definitive sale.

The factors that led Barça to change their mind with Iñigo Martínez

At the beginning of July, Iñigo seemed to have his days numbered at Can Barça. The Basque was the last of six centre-backs in the Barça squad for Hansi Flick's plans; the fourth assuming that Koundé would count more as a right back and Christensen as a pivot, in case reinforcement for that position did not arrive. The return of Eric García was emerging as a determining factor in opening the door to the one from Ondarroa, who had the option of leaving with a letter of freedom as of July 15 as he was not registered in LaLiga.

However, the '5' ruled out activating the 'escape' clause and preferred to work hard in the preseason to try to convince Hansi Flick. In the end, time proved the 33-year-old defender right, as the coach was very satisfied with his performance. Of course, Ronald Araújo's injury had a lot to do with it, added to the departure of Oriol Romeu and the doubts about recovering Joao Cancelo. With Gündogan's imminent goodbye, Martínez ensures his continuity, although having started the season as a starter at Mestalla (he played the full game) made his permanence clear.