Barcelona and Juventus are nearing the official announcement for their deal
The two midfielders, Arthur Melo and Miralem Pjanic, had already undergone their medicals last Sunday before finally penning new contracts with their new clubs, Juventus and Barcelona respectively.
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Both the clubs are expected to make an official announcement today as the two footballing giants have agreed on a deal that would see Barca’s Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo join the Italian giants for 70 million euros. Pjanic, meanwhile, will move to Camp Nou as Barca agreed to pay 60 million euros for the Bosnian, netting a profit of 10m.
Arthur has agreed on a five-season long contract that sees him earn a whopping 7 million euros per year including bonuses. The Bosnian international, however, has pinned a four-season deal with the Catalans which would place him in a Blaugrana shirt until the age of 34, ideally ending his career at one of the best clubs in the world.
Both the players will be playing with their current side for the remainder of the current campaign despite signing before the closure of the season as Barca wanted to finalize the deal before the end of June in order to include the funds in their financial books.
There is a common understanding among the fans that this decision was purely a political and monetary one to cater to the current economic struggles faced by the club. In the terms of a footballing decision, selling one of the most promising midfielders in the current squad for a player that has already crossed 30, is a recipe for disaster in the long run.
Barca must now deal with the financial and competitive issues surrounding this transfer as Pjanic’s current 60 million price tag will only reduce as the player ages meaning the Catalans will not make any profit in the future. Meanwhile, Juventus have a 23-year-old prospect who has been slowly evolving into a better player resulting in his current 70 million price tag which will only increase substantially in the near future.
Do you like this swap between Pjanic and Arthur?