Inigo Martinez bids goodbye to Barcelona ahead of Al Nassr move – ‘I wish them all the best’ | OneFootball

In what has been a bit of a whirlwind move, Barcelona defender Inigo Martinez is all set to join Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

The development came quite suddenly and unexpectedly, considering how important a player the 34-year-old defender had been for Hansi Flick last season.

Late on Thursday, news of his move broke, and 24 hours later, Martinez is now on his way to Saudi Arabia to complete the transfer.

Inigo Martinez says goodbye

Having said goodbye to the entire squad this morning at the training ground, Martinez had lunch with Dani Olmo, Eric Garcia, Pedri, Ferran Torres and Oriol Romeu at La Bonaigua before he made his way to the airport later in the day.

Inigo says goodbye. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Martinez spoke exclusively to SPORT at Barcelona Airport’s private terminal before boarding his flight to Saudi Arabia.

“It’s been a very busy but enjoyable few days. The farewell with my teammates was very nice and I wish them all the best,” said the Basque centre-back.

The 34-year-old veteran also wished to send a message to the fans during the chat, as he said:

“I can only thank them for these two wonderful years.”

Martinez will leave Barcelona on a free transfer, with the club agreeing to terminate his contract even though there was a year left on it.

His departure will be a boost in terms of Financial Fair Play margin as it will free up around €8.4 million in salary space for the La Liga champions.