Inigo Martinez’s decision to leave for Al-Nassr was difficult to take for many at Barcelona, including their supporters. The veteran centre-back was a crucial player last season, but he chose to end his time in Catalonia in favour of continuing his career in Saudi Arabia.
Martinez has now opened up on his move during an interview with Jijantes (via Diario AS). He admitted that it was a very tricky choice, but he feels that it was correct for him.
“It was not easy, I had to make the decision very quickly. At the time I thanked the club for facilitating my departure, not everyone does. I felt like one of them, I loved getting there every day. In fact, every day we won I was the one who brought croissants the next day. These are details that contribute a lot to the dressing room. A very young dressing room, with little experience. At your age, you try to support them and I’ve always felt loved by them.
The 34-year-old also revealed his reasons for leaving, while also opening up on the conversation he had with Hansi Flick telling him that he would be moving on – and the Barcelona head coach was in disbelief, which is to be expected given his public comments on the matter.
“Last year was the best of my career, and I thought it was very difficult for me to stay one more year at the same level. I had the talk with Hansi in one of the emergency doors of the plane (coming back from South Korea). We talked about the situation and the coach was shocked. I told him that I had an offer that I considered unrejectable..”
Martinez gives thoughts on Fermin Lopez situation
Martinez was also asked about the recent situation with Fermin Lopez, who turned down interest from Chelsea to stay at Barcelona.
“Fermín is very important for the dressing room and every time he comes out he contributes things. He is quiet and always with a smile, he is very noble and contributes a lot to the team. I had a very clear feeling that Fermín was not going to leave Barça. In the farewell I told him to continue doing his thing, he is going to be very important.”
Another topic that Martinez spoke on was the rivalry with Real Madrid last season, particularly from a psychological perspective.
“The only one Real Madrid respected was us. You could smell this on the pitch, you could feel it. It was jumping and after two matches, I saw their faces of not being able to keep up with us. It was our feeling and that’s why we won (four times).”
