Javi Martinez will leave Bayern Munich at the end of this season, the Bundesliga champions have confirmed.

Martinez joined Bayern from Athletic Bilbao in 2012 and straight away went about repaying what was then a club-record outlay of €40million, becoming a key member of their treble-winning squad under Jupp Heynckes.

Should Bayern complete the formalities of winning a ninth consecutive Bundesliga title – one that will in all probability be wrapped up this coming weekend – defensive midfielder Martinez will become the only player in Bundesliga history to have won as many as nine titles without failing to win the championship in any season.

Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, David Alaba and Jerome Boateng have also been part of all nine of those successive successes, but the latter two will join Martinez and head coach Hansi Flick in leaving Bayern at the end of the campaign as a period of transition under new boss Julian Nagelsmann awaits.

Despite frequently suffering injury setbacks during his time at the Allianz Arena, Martinez has made 266 appearances for Bayern, scoring 14 goals and supplying 11 assists.

"I'm very proud and happy to have been part of the FC Bayern family for nine years. I’d like to thank this great club and especially our fans – you have made Munich my home," the 32-year-old told Bayern's official website.

"I'll never forget these nine years. From the very first day, I felt the 'Mia san mia' and the special nature of FC Bayern.

"I lived for this club, always gave everything for it, and am very happy about the many titles we won together. FC Bayern and its fans will forever be in my heart."

Martinez added a second Champions League to his Bayern haul last season, when Kingsley Coman scored the only goal to down Paris Saint-Germain in Lisbon.

He won a pair of Club World Cups and UEFA Super Cups on the back of those triumphs in Europe's top competition, scoring vital goals in each of the latter games – a last-gasp leveller against Chelsea in 2013 to force a penalty shoot-out and an extra-time winner versus Sevilla last year.

He also won five DFB-Pokals and four DFL-Supercups.

"Javi was a very important player for FC Bayern over nine years, a defining player not just on the pitch but also in the dressing room and all around the club," said sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.

"His track record is almost unparalleled, especially in the big games where he was one who made the difference, starting with the 2013 Champions League final.

"He was versatile, put himself at the service of the team and always gave his all. Javi has his permanent place in the FC Bayern family and will keep it.”

Leon Goretzka and Javi Martinez were not part of the Bayern Munich squad that departed for the Club World Cup on Friday.

Bayern caught a flight to Qatar after their 1-0 victory over Hertha Berlin, which was secured by a deflected first-half strike from Kingsley Coman.

Hansi Flick's side kept a clean sheet thanks to Manuel Neuer's seven saves but they looked vulnerable on the counterattack with Joshua Kimmich anchoring the midfield alone at the Olympiastadion.

Goretzka and Martinez were absent following positive coronavirus tests and they did not travel to Doha with their team-mates.

"We have to look from day to day how things are going for both of them," Flick said.

"Leon is looking a little better, Javi will probably not make it. If not for the first game, then maybe for the second."

Bayern take on Al Ahly on Monday and will contest either the third-place play-off or the final against Palmeiras or Tigres UANL three days later.

The European champions left Germany after opening a 10-point advantage at the Bundesliga summit, though a missed penalty from Robert Lewandowski in the first half against Hertha meant the match was tighter than expected.

"You could tell it would be fiercely contested. Pal Dardai's team fight for every square centimetre," Thomas Muller, who set up Coman to become the first player to reach double figures for goals and assists in the Bundesliga this season, told DAZN.

"We should definitely have scored one or two more goals, so it was a close run thing in the end.

"You can't celebrate in every game. What is striking is that the clean sheet is becoming more and more common."

Bayern Munich are still waiting on Leon Goretzka and Javi Martinez to return negative coronavirus tests so they can resume first-team duties.

The midfield duo are set to be absent once again for Friday's Bundesliga match at Hertha Berlin after testing positive for COVID-19 last week.

Speaking at a pre-match news conference, head coach Hansi Flick confirmed Martinez's spell of self-isolation is set to end on Wednesday, with Goretzka having to wait until Friday.

After the Hertha game, European champions Bayern will fly to Qatar to commence their Club World Cup campaign.

"With Javi and Leon it is the case that we do a test after the quarantine, I can't comment on that because I don't have the results," he said.

"Javi has to take the test and then it will be determined if he still has the virus in his body. We have to wait from day to day.

"We also know with Leon that it takes a few days longer. He also has to be tested, everything will depend on that."

With or without Goretzka and Martinez, Flick conceded the Club World Cup will place an additional strain upon Bayern within an already condensed schedule.

"Qatar is very stressful, we have the flight and the games on Mondays and Thursdays. It was clear to us that we would not have time for proper training," he said.

"The team, coaching team and club want to win the next title, we all know that it is not easy.

"In addition to getting some vitamin D [sunshine], it is also a change from everyday life, even if the journey is dangerous.

"We want the sixth title in a year, the team would make history."

Flick had some words of encouragement for Niklas Sule, the defender who has only started two of Bayern's past six Bundesliga matches and was recently linked with a move to Chelsea.

"Niklas is an absolute option, whether in the centre or full-back position," he said of the Germany international, who suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament last season.

"He did well at Schalke [last month's 4-0 win where Sule played at right-back]. Don't forget that he had a long injury.

"Niklas is a fast player who is serene on the ball and helps shape the game from behind. Given his size, he has absolute strength and I'm glad he's on our team.

"We will see how everything develops and how he sees his future. I am satisfied with his development, you can rely on him."

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