Gerard Martín’s new Barcelona squad number confirmed as defender finally registered

The wait is finally over for Barcelona defender Gerard Martín to make his season debut as the full-back has been registered with La Liga and given a new first team squad number.

The league’s website now shows Gerard as part of the squad ahead of Sunday’s match against Rayo Vallecano, and Martín’s new number is 18, which belonged to legendary Barça left-back Jordi Alba during his very successful decade at the club.

Gerard signed a new contract until 2028 which included a first team promotion, and he needed to wait until the final four days days of the transfer window to finally be registered as Barça cleared enough salary cap space with the recent departures of Iñaki Peña and Jan Virgili.

Martín could be a key piece this season as Hansi Flick plans to use the 23-year-old as a left-sided center-back after the departure of Iñigo Martínez, but Gerard will also be used in his customary left-back role as Alejandro Balde’s backup throughout the campaign.

Source: barcablaugranes.com