Barcelona defender’s recently renewed contract no longer has a certain special clause | OneFootball

This week is shaping up to be a memorable one for FC Barcelona defender Iñigo Martínez. On Thursday, the Blaugrana club officially announced his contract renewal until 2026, a deal they had been eager to finalize for some time. However, La Liga only approved his registration after the sale of Vitor Roque.

Adding to his joy, on Friday, the Basque center-back received a call-up to the Spanish national team for the upcoming international break. Luis de la Fuente included him in the squad set to face the Netherlands in a two-legged UEFA Nations League quarter-final.

This season, he has been a key starter for Hansi Flick, and the German coach’s confidence in the defender has been key for the Catalan club to extend the defender’s contract even before he played the stipulated number of games, 60%, which would have allowed an automatic one-year renewal.

However, as Mundo Deportivo has reported, such a clause is not present in the new contract that has been announced by Barcelona. Thus, the 2025-26 season can be the last season at the Catalan club for the Basque defender, who is going to turn 34 years of age in May.

But despite his advanced age, he has proved his importance for the Blaugrana team this season, despite his rather secondary role in the squad in the last season. Since Flick’s arrival, he has played 33 of a possible 42 games and has been a fixed starter along with Pau Cubarsi, pushing a centre-back as established as Ronald Araujo to the bench.

During his time at Barcelona, the former Athletic Club has won only a Spanish Super Cup, a trophy he had already won with his former club. However, with the way he and his team are playing, there is a high likelihood of him adding some more titles to his list of achievements by the end of the season.