Barcelona defender granted permission to attend Athletic Club’s Copa del Rey celebrations | OneFootball

Inigo Martinez is not regarded very much among Athletic Club supporters, having departed last summer as a free agent to join Barcelona, but he still holds the club in very high regard, and he would have been delighted to see them win the Copa del Rey last weekend.

Martinez is still a member at Los Leones, and on Thursday, he will join Ernesto Valverde’s squad to celebrate their first Copa title in 40 years. El Correo (via MD) have reported that the veteran defender has been granted permission by Barcelona to attend the celebrations on La Gabarra, the club’s infamous barge used for celebration parades.

Understandably, Martinez won’t be on the main barge, as he doesn’t play for Athletic, but he will be on one of the boats that accompanies the first team on their voyage. Xavi Hernandez was the one to allow him to attend, and a contributing factor to the decision could be to do with the fact that Martinez is suspended for Barcelona’s trip to Cadiz this weekend.