Barcelona-linked Martinez focused on Belgium but 'very proud' of Catalan roots

The Red Devils head coach, who has been linked with replacing Ronald Koeman, is excited by his side's prospects in the Nations League

Roberto Martinez insists that he remains focused on Belgium despite speculation linking him with the Barcelona job.

The former Everton and Wigan Athletic boss is one of the names that has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Ronald Koeman, who has seen his position questioned following a disappointing start to the 2021-22 campaign.

And while Martinez is a proud Catalan who was born in the region, he is solely concentrating on his role with Belgium, with the Red Devils facing France in the Nations League semi-final on October 7.

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What has Martinez said about the Barcelona speculation?

"In all honesty, I don’t spend much time thinking about my future," Martinez exclusively told Goal. &Quot;My career shows that I don’t make plans to get to where I am now. I just go from project to project. You learn that you have to be committed today.

"In football, if you start thinking you just drop your performance and underachieve in what you do. In my case, I am very, very happy in what I am doing and I am just trying to achieve the next steps.

"In the end, if I have to arrive at a decision where there’s a door I will just try to make the best decision for everyone."

Martinez's side face France in the semi-final of the Nations League, with the winner taking on either Spain or Italy in the final.

A potential meeting with the country of Martinez's birth is an exciting one, and the 48-year-old has been encouraged by the Nations League format and its potential to set up clashes between some of Europe's top international sides.

Discussing a possible showdown with Spain, Martinez said: "You never lose your roots. I am very, very proud of it and my family are from there.

"But you learn not to miss places and to find a home wherever you are with a happy environment. It is true that one of the strange things is that my first game as a national team coach was against Spain.

"It really set the way that we were going to work from that point on. Now, we might have the opportunity to face each other which would be a really fascinating game. It just shows this competition really works.

"It brings teams like France, Spain and Italy into outstanding games with the opportunity of winning silverware. It really is quite special whatever way you want to look at it as a story for Belgium.

"If we play Spain, I grew up in Spain, and the other possible opponent is Italy, who stopped us in the Euros. Against France, we face the team that beat us at the semi-final of the World Cup. There’s a lot of stories and plans we need to make."

What's Martinez's opinion of Luis Enrique?

Spain head coach Luis Enrique is overseeing something of a transitional period, with many new faces - including Barcelona's 17-year-old talent Gavi - being introduced to the international set-up, and Martinez has been impressed with what he's seen.

"He’s (Luis Enrique) done really well," Martinez said of the former Barcelona boss. &Quot;I think he has a very clear way of working and how he wants his team to play. You can identify it through different players, different personnel.

"I thought their performance at the Euros was interesting. There were a lot of players with a lot of character and personality. They were able to get through the difficulties of the early games.

"They were very unlucky to lose to Italy in the manner that they did. It's very impressive that we get these managers at international level that have an identity on the pitch with all the different players that they use."

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