Ex-Barcelona star admits Hansi Flick was ‘shocked’ by his decision to leave | OneFootball

Former Barcelona star Iñigo Martínez has this week provided an insight into the reaction of Hansi Flick to his decision to depart the club this summer.

The name of defender Iñigo of course dominated the headlines in Catalunya’s capital early last month.

As much came after word was forthcoming that, somewhat out of the blue, the 34-year-old was on the verge of bringing a close to the Barcelona chapter of his career.

In the face of a big-money offer from the Middle East, Iñigo made the call to move on for one final pay day.

Barcelona, for their part, did not stand in the way of the stopper’s exit, opening the door for as much courtesy of a contract termination.

But as much only came about after Hansi Flick was left taken aback by Iñigo’s call.

The former Athletic Club man opened up on as much during an interview with Jijantes (as cited by Diario Sport) early this week, explaining:

“Notice that I hadn’t told this story, but the chat with Hansi was at one of the emergency exit doors, where you access the bathroom and the stewardesses prepare a coffee for you…. and it was suddenly, we were standing and talking about the situation.

“The coach was shocked, he didn’t expect it. The translator was also there and between the three of us I told them that not everything was done, but that I saw the offer as unrejectable and that I needed to take that path despite how well I was in Barcelona. It was difficult to make the decision in a few days. I couldn’t sleep in Japan and Korea. It’s hard to leave a club like this where I’ve always felt loved. When you are so well it is difficult to make the decision. I thank the club for the facilities when I had already made the decision.”

Conor Laird – GSFN