In light of Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s unfortunate injury, Inaki Pena has significantly stepped into the goalkeeping position for Barcelona. With consecutive victories under his watch, it’s evident he is performing admirably. Once considered a third-string goalkeeper, he has now ascended to a starting role.

Throughout this journey to prominence, one individual has been a steadfast source of encouragement for Pena. And that person is none other than his girlfriend, Claudia. Let’s explore who she is and uncover more about her.

Who is Claudia and the story behind their relationship

Inaki Pena and Claudia have been in a relationship since 2021. At that time, Pena was 22 years old and playing on Barcelona’s second team in Spain’s third division. The couple frequently shares vacation photos together on social media.

Additionally, when the 25-year-old was loaned to Galatasaray in 2022, Claudia moved with him to Istanbul as a supportive partner. She often attended his games to cheer him on from the stands. Upon returning to Barcelona during the summer of 2022, she accompanied him once again. Claudia is often seen at stadiums as one of Inaki Pena’s most dedicated supporters.

Regarding her personal life, not much information is publicly available. She tends to maintain a private profile with a modest following of just over 6k on the social media platform Instagram. There, she regularly posts travel snapshots and moments from matches they attend together. The couple doesn’t share any children yet. Now with all about Inaki’s personal life out of the way, let’s shift our focus on his remarkable rise in form that has propelled him into the spotlight.

How Inaki Pena has made himself a strong choice for Barcelona’s No. 1 Goalkeeper pick?

So far this season Inaki Pena has got 7 starts under him and in these 7 matches, he conceded 6 goals while keeping an impressive 4 clean sheets. There is no denying that he had a shaky start at first, but he greatly recovered in his later matches. His standout performance came when Barcelona faced off against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. While it was mainly Raphinha’s show, as he managed to score a hat-trick, Pena let only 1 goal through and looked strong and confident in the back line.

His performance earned him high praise even including from his ‘rival’ and Barcelona’s other choice goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczęsny. The veteran goalkeeper firmly believes it should be Pena who should be started as the Goalkeeper in the El Clasico.

This is notable praise indeed; as he put it, “Inaki Pena has not given him a reason to put him on the bench. We talked a lot. I already told the manager that I am 100% fit, but the team is working well. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It’s clear that Inaki Pena’s future looks promising ahead of him; with Claudia by his side, there appears to be nothing but positives on his horizon.