Background and career
Javier Martínez Aginaga (Spanish pronunciation: [xaˈβjeɾ ˈxaβi maɾˈtineθ aɣiˈnaɣa]; born 2 September 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. He arrived at Athletic Bilbao in 2006, before his 18th birthday, quickly imposing himself as a starter and going on to make 251 appearances over the course of six La Liga seasons, scoring 26 goals. In 2012, he signed for Bayern Munich for €40 million, going on to win nine consecutive Bundesliga titles as well as the UEFA Champions League in 2013 and 2020. A Spanish international, Martínez was a member of the squads that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012, and also played at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Martínez was born in Estella, Navarre and raised in the nearby village of Ayegui; and was a promising basketball player in his youth. Athletic Bilbao signed him as a raw 17-year-old for €6 million in the summer of 2006, from fellow La Liga club Osasuna, despite him never having played a game with the first-team; he had scored three goals in 32 appearances for the reserve team.
Martínez soon became a regular in his debut season with powerful displays, his highlight being scoring twice against in a 2–0 away win against Deportivo La Coruña on 16 December 2006, and finished with 35 games and three goals. He was ever-present again over the following two years, helping Athletic to the final of the Copa del Rey in 2009. In the 2009–10 season, Martínez was the midfield engine once more– 46 official matches, nine goals – and netted a career-best six times in the league campaign as the side narrowly missed on another qualification to the UEFA Europa League. In the 2011–12 season, under new manager Marcelo Bielsa, he began to be used regularly as a central defender, making 50 starts in the demanding role and receiving three red cards during the latter season, which saw them reach another domestic cup final as well as the decisive game in the UEFA Europa League, only to lose both matches 3–0.
On 29 August 2012, after Bayern Munich paid the buyout clause of €40 million in his contract, Martínez signed a five-year contract with the German club. He thus became the transfer record in the 50-year history of the Bundesliga. Martínez made his debut on 2 September – the day of his 24th birthday – coming on as a 77th minute substitute for Bastian Schweinsteiger in a 6–1 home win over VfB Stuttgart. He scored his first goal for his new club against Hannover 96 on 24 November, netting the opener in an eventual 5–0 home triumph through a bicycle kick. Martínez scored his second goal for Bayern in their 6–1 demolition of Werder Bremen on 23 February 2013, heading home from an Arjen Robben free-kick to make the score 2–0 after 30 minutes. Following the team's impressive 4–0 victory over Barcelona in the first-leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final clash on 23 April, he was lauded by many pundits for his all-around display and was credited as the key man in breaking up the tiki-taka football of national teammates Xavi and Andrés Iniesta; in the final game of his first season, he netted the first goal as the club came back from 0–2 and 1–3 down to win it 4–3 at Borussia Mönchengladbach. He finished the season with three goals in 43 appearances.
Martínez started the 2013–14 campaign on the substitutes bench, under new manager Pep Guardiola. On 30 August 2013, in that year's UEFA Super Cup, he took the pitch early into the second-half of the match against Chelsea, and scored the 2–2 equalizer in the last minute of extra-time, as the Bavarians went on to win the trophy in Prague after a penalty shootout. He finished the season with one goal in 34 appearances.
On 13 August 2014, Martínez tore the ligaments on his left knee 30 minutes into the German Super Cup encounter against Borussia Dortmund (eventual 0–2 loss), going on to miss the vast majority of the season. He returned to action on 2 May 2015, starting in central defence in a 2–0 league defeat against Bayer Leverkusen. Ten days later, he came on as an 87th-minute substitute in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona. In addition to playing in the German Super Cup, He also played in one Bundesliga match and one Champions League match.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
