The Brazilian midfielder arrive to Barcelona two seasons ago from Gremio.
After weeks of speculation, Barcelona officially sold Arthur Melo to Juventus and await the arrival of Miralem Pjanic.
The club released an official statement confirming the news. The Catalans will receive €72 million plus an additional €10 million in add-ons.
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In return, they will agree to pay around €60 million for Pjanic. The deal was structured in a way where the clubs could record the revenue from the sales in the accounts for this season. For reference, think of the deal they made last season with Valencia which saw the club essentially swap Jasper Cillissen for Neto.
The Brazilian midfielder traveled to Turin following the club’s 2-2- draw against Celta Vigo to take his medical.
He also addressed his teammates during Monday’s training session where he informed them that he was indeed leaving.
According to Sport, he gathered the group in a circle, confirmed the news as well as his mindset throughout the transfer saga.
The Brazilian wants to leave Barcelona on a positive note.
In his talk with his teammates, Arthur told them that he was going to stay until the end of the season and it was confirmed in the team’s statement. The same will happen with Pjanic.
Arthur’s goal from here until the end of the season is to be able to leave with his head held high and hopefully with a title. That is going to be a difficult task given the club’s situation in the league and the fact that they are not one of the favorites to win the Champions League.
His departure is one that surely pleases the hierarchy of the club since they can use his sale as a way to balance the books. But it’s caused frustration with the squad.
They don’t understand why he is being sold considering he is only 23 and only arrived back in 2018. It’s made even more puzzling since his replacement, for lack of a better word, is a player who is already 30.
The way Quique Setien brushed his departure aside and seemingly blamed him for not succeeding at Barcelona also didn’t sit well with anyone involved.
Arthur has yet to reach the prime of his career. Billed as the “next Xavi” when he arrived, if he ever does turn into that, it will likely be at Juventus and not at the Camp Nou.