Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu admits they’re delighted with their deal for Miralem Pjanic.
Pjanic is joining Barca for a fee of €60m in bonuses as Arthur Melo moves in the opposite direction for €72m plus €10m.
Barcelona management have no regrets selling Arthur to Juventus. Arthur is moving to Juve in an exchange for Pjanic and has terminated his registration with Barca.
Bartomeu told RAC1: “The decision for Arthur and Pjanic is primarily sporting, not economic.
“We have wanted to recruit Pjanic for a long time. It is not to adjust the accounts because if that was the case we would have sold other players for whom we had offers.
“How is it explained that Arthur went from €30m to €72m in two years? Supply and demand works like this. It was his value during the month of March.”
Bartomeu said of the Bosnian: “We have been following him for a long time. But it couldn’t be done in recent years because the club didn’t want to sell him.
“He has always been delighted with the idea of coming to Barça. It wasn’t a surprise transfer.
“He will easily establish himself as an important player.”
Mundo Deportivo says Arthur’s injury problems and lack of progress since his arrival from Gremio has management happy to offload him to Juve this summer.
Behaviour off the pitch has also frustrated Barca chiefs, with an infamous trip to Paris to attend Neymar’s birthday two days after playing Real Madrid disappointing staff. There was also a snowboarding trip during his rehab from a groin injury which also worked against Arthur’s status within the club.
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