Bayern sign Javi Martinez

Bayern Munich have completed the signing of Athletic Bilbao’s Spain midfielder Javi Martinez on a five-year contract, the Bundesliga side said on Wednesday.



Martinez, 23, had rescinded his contract with Bilbao and been given permission to join Bayern by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) and the professional football league (LFP), Bayern said in a statement on their website.



He had passed a medical and was available to play immediately, the statement added.

“This was without question a complicated transfer so we are all the happier that Javi Martinez is finally with us,” Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said of the deal, which has dragged on for several weeks.



Raised at Osasuna, Martinez was signed by Bilbao as a 17-year-old in 2006 and has played for Spain at all age levels.



He flourished last season under coach Marcelo Bielsa, helping his team reach the finals of the King’s Cup and the Europa League.



Bayern are desperate to win a title this season after finishing as runners-up in the Bundesliga and German Cup last term, beaten by Borussia Dortmund in both competitions.