It's official, Iñigo Martínez is very close to leaving Barça: 'Arabia pays $100M'

Iñigo Martínez still hasn't made his debut with Barça during the preseason and it's probably because he's finalizing his departure from Barça. Sources at the Catalan club assure that the sale of Iñigo Martínez is imminent and, therefore, the Basque center-back is just one step away from leaving the Catalan entity. He was one of the favorites among Barcelona fans, but Iñigo Martínez has received a colossal offer from Saudi Arabia and is about to become a new player for Al-Nassr, Ronaldo's team.

According to transfer market specialist journalistMatteo Moretto, Iñigo Martínez has a very interesting offer from Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia, who want to have the Basque defender right away. Barça wasn't planning to sell Iñigo Martínez, but the truth is that his departure creates "fair play" and, therefore, it's not seen in a negative light. In addition, sources at Barça assure that he's a veteran player, so it's understood that he wants to sign his last big contract before retiring from the world of soccer.

Saudi soccer continues to make strong moves and Barça has once again become one of their main targets. Specifically, Al-Nassr, the team of Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Félix, has set the challenge of signing Iñigo Martínez, who is open to moving to Saudi Arabia. Barça will receive about 8 million euros for the defender, while Iñigo Martínez will earn nearly 20 million euros per year, amounts that Barça can't pay.

It's official, Iñigo Martínez, very close to leaving Barça: "Saudi Arabia pays 100 million"

The transfer market bomb has already reached Barça. Everyone expected Ronald Araújo to leave, but in the end it will be Iñigo Martínez, 34-year-old center-back with a past at Athletic Club and Real Sociedad. Iñigo Martínez still hadn't made his debut with Barça this season and the reason was clear: he didn't want to take risks and avoiding an injury was key to signing for Al-Nassr.

Barça confirms that the sale of Iñigo Martínez is advanced, so everything is expected to become official in the next few hours. Iñigo Martínez had renewed with Barça a few months ago, but the offer from Saudi Arabia is tempting for Barça and for the player.

With his departure, Barça will free up a lot of salary space, will be able to register Marcus Rashford and Joan García and will receive about 8 million euros, which generates capital gains. It's worth remembering that Iñigo Martínez arrived at Barça on a free transfer, so all the income will be clean in terms of financial "fair play": everything will be official very soon.