Inigo Martinez (foto: Getty Images)
Barcelona veteran Iñigo Martínez has become a key figure in Hansi Flick’s high-line defense, proving vital to the team’s domestic success despite being denied a transfer to Camp Nou years ago.
Inigo Martínez has emerged as one of Barcelona’s most important players this season. While the team relies heavily on young talent from La Masia, it was the 34-year-old Basque defender who brought steel, leadership, and defensive order to Hansi Flick's high-risk tactical setup.
Barcelona finished the season with a domestic double crown—or a treble if we count the Super Cup—and their youthful squad played a big role in that. The average age of the team is just 25.1 years, with nine academy graduates featuring regularly. But even among so much emerging talent, Martínez stood tall.
Born in Ondarroa, 60 km from San Sebastián, Martínez came through the ranks at Real Sociedad and later spent five seasons at Athletic Bilbao. In 2023, he joined Barcelona on a free transfer at the age of 32. After an injury-hit debut season, he flourished under Flick and became a cornerstone of the defense—especially crucial given the German’s famously high back line.
Ironically, Martínez could have joined Barcelona in 2017. Then-coach Ernesto Valverde had wanted him after Neymar’s €222 million departure to PSG. But senior players—Messi, Piqué, Busquets, Alba, and Suárez—allegedly blocked the transfer to protect their friend Javier Mascherano. Valverde gave in, and Barça's defensive problems soon spiraled, culminating in humiliations against Roma (2018), Liverpool (2019), and Bayern (2020).
Martínez’s arrival could have changed that. He is known for his uncompromising leadership and defensive discipline—traits that might have prevented Barcelona’s collapse in those years. Xavi Hernández did not repeat Valverde’s mistake. When Martínez's contract with Athletic expired, Xavi called him personally. “I agreed immediately. The bad memories of 2017 didn’t haunt me. I came to win.”
And win he did. While the headlines go to Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Raphinha, or Lewandowski, it’s Martínez who has enabled the structure. Flick’s system pushes the defensive line daringly high, often holding it just inside their own half. It requires perfect timing, constant communication, and relentless intensity. One misstep can mean disaster. That’s why a veteran like Martínez—focused, vocal, and fearless—has become irreplaceable.
He’s not the flashiest name, but without Iñigo Martínez, this Barcelona wouldn’t function the same way. He is the foundation—on the pitch and in the dressing room. After all these years, he’s not just another veteran. He’s the commander of Flick’s back line. And he’s finally receiving the recognition he was denied in 2017.