Renewed! Iñigo Martínez extends his contract with FC Barcelona until 2026

The FC Barcelona has officially announced the contract extension of Iñigo Martínez. The 33-year-old Basque defender had a contract with the blaugrana team until June 30 of this year. However, his stellar performance as one of the leaders of the culé defense, providing experience and intelligence to the team, has made him a key piece in Hansi Flick's scheme.

The Ondarroa native has shown to perfectly understand the demands of the German coach in terms of organization and game management from the defensive area. Additionally, he is one of the most tenacious, solid, and difficult defenders to surpass at a global level.

Iñigo Martínez has extended his contract with Barcelona until June 30, 2026

In this regard, the FC Barcelona has used its social media to share the good news, confirming that they have automatically extended the contract of the Basque defender until June 30, 2026. Likewise, as mentioned in the statement, this extension had already been agreed upon months ago, but was pending registration with the Professional Football League (LFP).

It should not be overlooked that, as we mentioned earlier on FCBN, the extension of Iñigo Martínez's contract with FC Barcelona was one of the topics that was on the table to finalize this March. However, this matter seemed to be stalled due to a financial 'fair play' issue, as there was not enough space to register the new contract of the Basque defender. This situation recently changed thanks to a specific name, Vitor Roque.

After the sale of 'Tigrinho' to Palmeiras, which was closed on February 28 for around €25 million (plus variables) for 80% of the forward's rights. An operation that, according to various sources, generated enough 'fair play' margin to carry out the contract extension of Iñigo Martínez.

LaLiga recently approved the registration of the new contract of the Basque defender

In this context, as reported by 'Mundo Deportivo', once this transaction was completed, the blaugrana team decided to add an addendum to the contract of the former Athletic Club player. Following this, the culé team requested LaLiga several days ago to register the new agreement of the '5'.

Finally, the request was approved by the league on Wednesday, March 12 in the afternoon. LaLiga ultimately gave the green light to register Iñigo Martínez with this new contract. Both the club and the defender celebrated this news.

PROFILE OF IÑIGO MARTÍNEZ

1. Full name: Iñigo Martínez Berridi
2. Date of Birth/Age: 05/17/1991 (33 years)
3. Place of birth: Ondarroa
4. Nationality: Spain
5. Height: 1.82 m
6. Position: Center back
7. Foot: Left
8. Agent: Carmelo Sánchez
9. Current club: FC Barcelona
10. Signed: 07/05/2023
11. Contract until: 06/30/2026
12. Last renewal: 03/13/2025
13. Clause: €400 million
14. Market value: €5 million
15. Supplier: Puma
16. National team: Spain
17. Trophies (FC Barcelona): Supercopa de España 2024/25
18. Trophies (national team): U21 European Champion (Spain)

Statistics of Iñigo Martínez

1. Matches (FC Barcelona): 58
2. Goals (FC Barcelona): 3
3. Assists (FC Barcelona): 4
4. International matches (national team): 21

The culé sports management continues to work effectively on renewals

Once the contract extension of Iñigo Martínez with FC Barcelona was made official, an achievement that he has earned through his outstanding performances, it shows the clear result of a process that the club's sports management had been evaluating for some time. Furthermore, this contract extension, which is the sixth this season for the Catalan team (after those of Ronald Araujo, Gerard Martín, Pedri González, Gavi, and Pau Cubarsí), demonstrates their initial commitment to address the immediate needs of the existing players in the team.