BarcelonaAlthough the season is not over, Barça are fully immersed in sports planning for the next season. Xavi Hernández sent his list of needs to the sports management a few days ago to try to get the team to compete for the titles again. The Egarenco coach has repeatedly said that he needs “two competitive players per position” and, in this sense, has called for reinforcements on all fronts.
For the attack, and once the Haaland letter has been discarded, the club is attentive to the situation of Robert Lewandowski, has a verbal pact with Raphinha Dias and keeps an eye on Álvaro Morata. Franck Kessié was given a chance to change things around. And for the defense, apart from the addition of Andreas Christensen, he is working to add two more Chelsea players – César Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso – and is studying the scoreboard market to bring one from the left. Kalidou Koulibaly, from Naples, polled for this need. But the Senegalese’s price – with offers from the Premier League and a market value of more than 40 million – and the reluctance of the Italians to lose him – they want to renew him – force Barça to look for alternatives. One of them, as ARA has confirmed, is Iñigo Martínez, head of the Athletic Club. He likes both the coaches and the sports management. He is valued for his experience in the league and his mentality, and they see him as physically fit to play away from the area.
Interest in the natural defense of Ondarroa (Guipúzcoa) is not new at the Camp Nou. In fact, in the summer of 2017, the then Barça president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, came to communicate to his Royal Society counterpart, Jokin Aperribay, the payment of the termination clause, amounting to 32 million euros, to incorporate a footballer who had been specifically asked by Ernesto Valverde, who had just landed on the Barça bench. At the time, Iñigo was 26 years old, one of the best central defenders in the league and was looking to make a leap in his career. But when he had everything ready to change San Sebastián for Barcelona, he saw the operation go awry because Bartomeu and the then Barcelona sporting director, Pep Segura, detected that the signing would fall badly in certain sectors of the locker room . Months later, Barça hired Yerry Mina and Iñigo left for Athletic Club.
Iñigo Martínez will be on the verge of signing for Barça in 2017, but Bartomeu halted the operation due to dressing room pressure
Five years after this sequence, and despite already being 31, Martínez is still one of the best-considered central defenders in the league. And since his contract expires on June 30, 2023, it is once again a market opportunity for clubs that, like Barça, do not have all the money in the world for transfers. He is in no hurry to renew with Athletic at the moment, aware that the Biscayan club could let him go at a reasonable price so as not to risk losing him free transfer next summer. Although its termination clause amounts to 80 million euros, it has a market value of 25, according to the specialized portal Transfermarkt. If Athletic sold it before June 30, a significant income would be recorded to end with a profit a year that had planned to close with a loss of 5.5 million by the effects of coronavirus. However, there will be hardly any moves before the change of balance, as there are elections in San Mamés on St. John’s Day and just this week a management committee has taken possession of the club.
Basque special taxation benefits the player
If Athletic, already with a new board chosen, agreed to negotiate a departure, one of the highest cards in the squad would also be saved. Because, under the agreement he signed at the beginning of 2018, Iñigo has very good conditions thanks to the special taxation that exists in the Basque Country (24% personal income tax). At Barça, the percentage would rise to 50%, which would lead him to lose purchasing power if he kept the emoluments he now has in Bilbao, which is complicated by the context of the salary savings imposed on the Barça club. “Maybe the Barça experience compensates him,” they say from the Camp Nou in relation to a possible reduction in conditions. However, in any case, the proposals for both the player and Athletic should be refined according to the economic movements that are being managed these days: the already famous levers. There is no formal offer, but a study of the viability of the operation.
Xavi wants to sign a left-back because he has no guarantees in the squad. The couple he has used most times are two right-wingers such as Gerard Piqué and Ronald Araujo. So are Eric Garcia, the third player with the most minutes on the axis, and Christensen, a footballer already committed to the upcoming campaign. The idea of the Barça coaches is to soon get rid of the only two left-backs in the squad, Clément Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti. That is why it is important to go to the market to cover this very specific need.
