Grêmio’s Arthur was one of the revelations of South American football in 2017 and pivotal to his side’s capture of the continent’s elite club competition - the Libertadores - to the extent of being awarded the man of the match in the final’s second leg despite having been brought off injured in the 51st minute.
Naturally these exploits caught the attention of Europe’s biggest clubs, with Barcelona chief among them in striking a deal in February by paying €4mn up front and giving their word to cough up a further €30mn later on for a 21-year-old considered by many to be the natural heir to Xavi that the Catalans have craved since the legendary midfielder left for Qatar in 2015.
Since then, though, there has been a great deal of to-and-fro over when the Goiâna native will actually head to the Nou Camp and whether or not his prospective employers will make good on their promise by handing over the fee originally agreed for one of Brazil’s finest young talents. On the fringes of making the final cut for Tite’s Russia 2018 squad, Arthur is almost guaranteed to play a prominent role in the Selecão’s campaign in Qatar four years from now should he continue his upward trajectory.
The aforementioned fees originally settled to see Arthur begin his La Liga career in 2019, reports have emerged in the last few days that Barcelona wish to see the playmaker don Blaugrana colours this summer, for which an extra 10 million euros must be delivered by bringing the total fee to around €50mn after bonuses and add-ons and therefore triggering the young promise’s release clause.
Gremio’s president, Romildo Bolzan Jr, is having none of it. “This [Arthur not leaving until next year] is what’s in the contract and we want it to be fulfilled” he began. “What do Barcelona have with us?” he continued, clearly irritated “The option to buy and already pay [for it]. Grêmio negotiated for the player to go to Barcelona in January” cleared up Bolzan, who added that there are “no new factors” in relation to Arthur’s case. “There hasn’t been anything that could mean that we would renegotiate with Barcelona or that we can undo what has already been done” he affirmed.
