The Barcelona player is currently in his native Brazil.
It was only a matter of time until the situation between Arthur Melo and Barcelona boiled over and it appears that it finally has.
According to Sport, the Brazilian has taken it upon himself to stay in Brazil and informed the team that, as far as he’s concerned, he is no longer a Barcelona player. Thus, he will not play another minute with the club.
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He failed to show up for coronavirus testing without permission from the club. From where they stand, they see this as a rebellion.
Since his move to Juventus became official, the Brazilian midfielder has not played at all under Quique Setien. The talk from his camp had been that he wanted to play and help the team make a deep Champions League run.
He wanted to leave the club with a trophy and a good feeling. However, by deciding not to show up, he’s thrown away any possibility of doing that.
When the rumors of a move to Juventus first sprung up, he was adamant that he was only concentrating on being with Barcelona right now and for years to come.
His stance appears to have changed due to the persistent interest from the Italian side and the fact that Barcelona weren’t exactly reassuring that they counted on him or considered him an important part of the team.
A situation made worse when Setien all but blamed Arthur as the reason why he was sold stating that he wouldn’t be the first player to leave the club because they failed to live up to expectations.
Arthur is now desperate to get away from Barcelona.
According to ESPN, in addition to no longer wanting to be part of the preparation for the Champions League, he does not want to be at Barcelona anymore and is working to get his contract terminated.
As mentioned, he’s grown frustrated with the lack of playing time. He was not even in the matchday squad in their final game against Alaves. Despite Setien stating that he had told him that he was injured, the club never released a statement confirming it.
Barcelona are looking at all their options right now including going after him for breach of contract.
Setien had also mentioned that he would only play if deemed absolutely necessary.
The game against Napoli certainly falls in that category as both Arturo Vidal and Sergio Busquets are suspended for that match. Meaning that Barcelona are short on midfield options and Setien may have been forced to play the Brazilian.
He no longer has that option after Arthur’s latest decision.
When he was first signed from Gremio, it looked like the club had finally made a good midfield signing and he was going to be a key piece in the rebuild. That has not been the case and his time at the Camp Nou is over after only three seasons.
It is a shame that the last image of Arthur as a Barcelona player will be of him yawning in the stands in their loss at home against Osasuna.
Everyone has their opinion on whether or not he should have been sold and why the club did it. At the end of the day, no one is coming out the other side looking good. Many supporters might have been on his side but Arthur seems to have thrown away much of that goodwill.