Josep Martínez
Josep Martínez Riera (born 27 May 1998) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Genoa and the Spain national team. Club career Las Palmas Born in Alzira, Valencia, Martínez joined FC Barcelona's La Masia in July 2015, from hometown's UD Alzira. On 19 July 2017, after finishing his formation, he signed for UD Las Palmas and was assigned to the reserves in Segunda División B. Martínez made his senior debut on 20 August 2017, starting in a 1–1 home draw against UD Melilla. He finished the campaign as a starter, as his side avoided relegation. Martínez made his first team debut on 28 April 2019, playing the full 90 minutes of a 4–1 home routing of CD Lugo in the Segunda División championship. On 17 June, he was definitely promoted to the main squad. RB Leipzig On 22 January 2020, RB Leipzig reached an agreement with Las Palmas for the transfer of Martínez, effective as of 1 July. He agreed to a contract until 2024 with his new club. Genoa On 29 June 2022, Martínez was loaned to Genoa in Italy for the Serie B 2022–23 season. The first part of the season was difficult for Josep since he had to gain a starting spot in the team. After some great saves like the one against Bari (26 December 2022), the decisive one almost at the photo finish in the home match against Reggina (31 March 2023), or the crazy one in the game vs F.C. Südtirol (1 May 2023) where, with a sort of instinct dance move he succeeded to deflect the ball with his heel, Josep become the first-choice goalkeeper at the expense of Adrian Šemper giving a crucial contribution to Genoa's return to Serie A allowing only 22 goals in 30 games. On 9 June 2023, since the inclusion of a "sell-out" right following the promotion to Serie A, Josep was bought by Genoa for 3,5 million of euros. International career Due to the isolation of some national team players following the positive COVID-19 test of Sergio Busquets, Spain's under-21 squad were called up for the international friendly against Lithuania on 8 June 2021. Martínez made his senior debut in the match. Career statistics International Honours RB Leipzig DFB-Pokal: 2021–22 References External links 1998 births Living people People from Alzira, Valencia Footballers from the Province of Valencia Spanish men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Segunda División players Segunda División B players Bundesliga players Serie A players Serie B players UD Las Palmas Atlético players UD Las Palmas players RB Leipzig players Genoa CFC players Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spain men's international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Italy