Inigo Martinez Will Sign A Two-Year Deal Worth €9 Million Per Season With Barcelona
Even though Barcelona are still trying to sort out their Financial Fair Play issues, they seem to already have their first transfer of the summer in the bag.
Indeed, according to widespread reports, Athletic Club defender Inigo Martinez has agreed to sign for the La Liga leaders on a two-year contract once his current deal with the Basque club expires at the end of the season.
In fact, it is believed that Martinez has already passed his medicals a few weeks ago and all seems set for him to join Barcelona on July 1.
Now, Ferran Correas of SPORT has shed some more light on Martinez’s imminent move to Barça, giving an insight into the contract details of the La Liga veteran as well as his motivations to join the Blaugrana.
As per the report, Martinez will indeed be signing a two-year contract with Barcelona as has been reported previously. Furthermore, Correas reports that the 31-year-old will be on a salary similar to what he currently earns at Athletic Club.
It means that the Spanish international would be earning around €9 million per year (gross). However, he would lose some money as the taxation laws in the Basque Country are much more relaxed. So, his salary after taxes at Barcelona will be lesser than his current one.
Despite that, Martinez has agreed to join the Blaugrana as he desires to win trophies in the final phase of his career. Athletic Club, for their part, were willing to offer him a new deal, but the 31-year-old was fixed to sign for Xavi Hernandez’s side.
So much so that Martinez even agreed to insert a clause in his agreement which would allow him to leave on loan if Barcelona are unable to register him in the summer.
While there may be such a special clause inserted in the deal, the report states that Barça have assured Martinez that his registration will go ahead without any hitches, as they continue to talk with La Liga to address the Financial Fair Play issues.
