Report: Barcelona complete first summer move despite financial straits

Inigo Martinez

Report: Barcelona complete first summer move despite financial straits

Faruq Ibrahim 23:55 - 28.03.2023

Despite their financial troubles Barcelona are said to have completed their first summer signing.

Barcelona have reportedly completed the signing of Inigo Martinez on a pre-contract agreement, and he is set to join the Blaugrana at the end of the season, but there was a special clause inserted into his contract. 

Athletic Club currently employs the 32-year-old centre-back, but his contract expires in the summer, despite efforts by the Basque club to renew him and Los Leones manager Ernesto Valverde publicly expressing the club's desire to keep him. He is now set to join Barcelona, per fresh reports.  

Inigo Martinez to Barcelona

Barcelona-based journalist Gerard Romero reports that Barcelona have completed the signing of Inigo Martinez on a free transfer. 

However, the report also states that should Barcelona be unable to register the player, per their LaLiga FFP troubles, the defender will be allowed to leave on loan for the season on a similar salary.

Initial reports surfaced sometime back that Barcelona had identified Martinez as a replacement for Gerard Pique, who retired from football earlier in the season. 

It was alleged then that Barcelona were in talks to hand the Athletic Club defender a pre-contract offer, but per the new reports now via Gerard Romero's Twitch and Jijantes FC's Twitter account, the deal has now been completed.  

Barcelona have to sell

To enable them to register players they sign next summer, Barcelona have to make money through player sales, per the LaLiga president, as we previously reported.

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Tebas said Barcelona will need to offload players to enable them to register players, as they do not have enough margin to complete operations as is according to LaLiga FFP rules.  

Also, Barcelona loanee Sergino Dest is set to return to Camp Nou, with AC Milan reportedly uninterested in triggering his buy option. 

Dest's impending return will mean Barcelona will not be getting a transfer fee from Milan and will return to paying the wages of a player not in their manager's plans.  

Sergino Dest in action for AC Milan
Sergino Dest in action for AC Milan

With Barcelona struggling with their finances, their activity in the next transfer window will be determined by how much they can get from exit operations, as confirmed by LaLiga president Javier Tebas, and with Milan uninterested in buying Dest, a possible €20 million in capital gains is lost for Barcelona.

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