Inigo Martinez to leave Barcelona for Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr

Inigo Martinez to leave Barcelona for Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr originally appeared on The Sporting News

In a sudden blow to the current La Liga crown holders, Barcelona is slated to lose centerback Iñigo Martinez to Al Nassr of the Saudi Pro League. 

Last season, Martinez served as a reliable defensive replacement to Ronald Araujo as the Uruguayan international battled hamstring and ankle injuries throughout the 2024-25 campaign. With Araujo unable to feature for most of the Blaugrana’s La Liga-winning season, Martinez started in 45 out of 46 total matches and provided a much needed dose of stability along Barca’s back line. 

Now, the left-footed defender also played a fairly pivotal role for Barca during preseason play, but Martinez is set to leave the Spanish side after two trophy-laden seasons with the club according to football insider Fabrizio Romano. 

🟡🔵 Info confirmed: Iñigo Martínez joins Al Nassr for free, no transfer fee at all.

There was a specific clause to allow his exit from Barcelona and Iñigo activated it.

His salary for upcoming season will be saved. ⤵️ https://t.co/S1XbaqokrS

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 7, 2025

To facilitate this deal, Martinez activated a clause from within his contract that would allow for a relatively seamless departure from FCB, and this is why Martinez will join Al Nassr on a free transfer. As for the Saudi side, Al Nassr recently added Portuguese forward Joao Felix on a permanent deal from Chelsea, so the club appears determined to surround Cristiano Ronaldo on his push to claim the Saudi Pro League trophy.

Now, a player of Martinez’s caliber could have drawn approximately 5 million Euros on the open market, but Barcelona is in the midst of a numbers crunch. As days tick down before the La Liga season commences, FCB will have to decide which players will be registered in the coming season. As The Sporting News recently reported, 19-year old fullback Hector Fort has received overtures from Aston Villa, and his exit from the Catalan club could help Barca’s registration predicament. 

READ MORE: Girona looking to add Vitor Reis on loan from Manchester City

In all, Barcelona will attempt to register Marcus Rashford, Joan Garcia and Gerard Martin, the former two which have joined the club over the summer. So, it would not surprise to see a bit more movement from Barcelona on the transfer wire before its season kicks off formally on Saturday, Aug. 6 against Mallorca. 

For more information on La Liga and each of its 20 first division clubs, follow @EricJRutter and @sportingnews on X for continued football coverage.