Barcelona and Juventus football clubs have confirmed the swap deals involving Miralem [janic and Arthur Melo in separate statements.
Juventus had to wait for the closure of Italy’s stock exchanger before announcing the deal, as Barca had earlier announced on their website.
Arthur joined the Bianconerri in a transfer worth up to €82 million, as announced by the two clubs announced on Monday, while Pjanic heads towards the other direction, joining the Catalan giant for €60m plus €5m in possible add-ons on a four-year deal with a €400m release clause. According to the statement, Juventus will pay Barca €72m for purchasing 23-year-old Arthur with a further €10m in potential add-ons.
Both players will honour their present contracts with their sides, which expire in the summer. They will also be available for selection in the Champions League in August. With both teams still in the competition, there is a likelihood that they may play each other in the final scheduled for Lisbon.
Details of Arthur Melo’s deal
According to ESPN, Arthur, after completing his medicals in Turin, signed a five-year deal with Juve. The Brazilian midfielder will earn significantly more than he is currently getting at Barca. He is presently training with Barca ahead of today’s La Liga clash against Athletico Madrid.
With the deal signed, Barca’s coach, Quique Setien, who had wanted everything sorted so that the Brazilian can concentrate on his remaining games for the club, Melo on his return for training on Monday, assured his teammates that he would continue to give his all until he leaves at the end of the season.
Melo had initially insisted that he wasn’t interested in leaving Barca despite being told he won’t be getting enough playing times at the club he joined for €30m from Gremio in 2018. He later changed his mind due to the generous offer he got from Juve and pressure from Barca that wanted to cash in on him.
Meanwhile, Juve has said the money for Arthur’s purchase would be paid in four installments.
Barca should be happy now after finally landing Pjanic, whom they had tried signing on several occasions. With both clubs wanting to balance their books, negotiations intensified. Pjanic had initially reached an agreement with Barca, but Arthur remained adamant before changing his mind.
