Fabrizio Romano says key defender could leave Barcelona immediately amid Saudi interest | OneFootball

FC Barcelona have had a dramatic few days with the saga surrounding Marc-André ter Stegen. It ended with the Catalan club stripping the German of the captaincy and announcing Ronald Araújo as his temporary successor.

The Catalan club has also confirmed that they have opened disciplinary proceedings against their former club captain. Now, it looks like Barcelona have been dealt with another blow as a star player could leave the club immediately.

The player in question is Inigo Martinez. As per Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Spanish defender could leave Hansi Flick’s team with immediate effect, as Saudi Pro League clubs are interested in signing him

The 34-year-old joined Barcelona on a free transfer a couple of seasons ago. While his first year was plagued by injuries, he became one of Flick’s first-choice players during the 2024/25 season.

Inigo forged an excellent partnership with Pau Cubarsi in the centre of defense. It was Flick’s go-to partnership for the big games throughout the season. During the Asian pre-season tour, he played the first game against Vissel Kobe but missed the next two completely.

Journalist Matteo Moretto has claimed that Al Nassr are interested in signing Inigo. Aymeric Laporte looks all set to leave the SPL club, and it looks like they want to sign the Barcelona defender to replace him in their squad.

So close to the new season, this is a massive blow to Barcelona’s squad planning. They might now have to go into the market for a new center-back, unless Hansi Flick is happy with the options he has. Let’s wait and see how things play out on this front in the coming days.