Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reportedly received £7 million from Arsenal before he agreed to terminate his contract with the Premier League club in January 2022.
Arsenal decided to take such a step to get rid of the 32-year-old Gabonese striker who last played for the London-based club on December 6, 2021.
Recall that Aubameyang was permitted to travel to France for a private visit in December 2021 but he exceeded the number of days he was permitted to stay away. Hence, the club had to discipline him by ending his reign as the captain of the club.
Arsenal’s coach, Mikel Arteta did not stop there, the coach continued to sideline the Gabon international who was earning £350,000-per-week at the club until he exited the club on January transfer deadline day.
The football star decided to jump ship when it was obvious that Arsenal would not forgive him. The 32-year-old striker who joined the Premier League club from Borussia Dortmund on January 31, 2018, for a transfer fee worth €63.75 million, left Arsenal as a free agent.
Initially, he wanted to join FC Barcelona on loan but when the Spanish club was not ready to accept the financial obligation of the loan deal, Aubameyang decided to accept a huge pay cut before he could join the Spanish club.
The Times reported that the Gabonese striker accepted to abandon the 18 months left on his contract with Arsenal worth £350,000-per-week after Arsenal had paid him off with £7 million.
Though Arsenal have not gotten a direct replacement for him, his exit is seen as a huge financial gain for the Premier League side. The fact that Aubameyang abandoned the 18 months on his contract with Arsenal saved the club a whopping £25 million.
But if the report that Arsenal paid Aubameyang £7 million is anything to go by, the club saved only £18 million from the free exit of the Gabonese striker.
Meanwhile, FC Barcelona have confirmed the signing of Aubameyang. According to a statement from the club, the 32-year-old striker who scored 7 goals and provided 2 assists in 15 games for Arsenal this season, will stay at FC Barcelona until June 30, 2025.
Even though the former Dortmund striker is gradually passing his prime, FC Barcelona have decided to include a 100 million euros release clause in his contract.
“FC Barcelona and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have reached an agreement for the player to join the club after the striker terminated his contract with Arsenal FC”, a statement from Barca’s official site read.
“The player will sign a contract until 30 June 2025 with an option to agree departure on 30 June 2023 and his buy-out clause will be set at 100 million euros.”
❝ I'm happy to be here. I will give it my all to help the team ❞@Auba pic.twitter.com/6miGvVpdAa
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 2, 2022
