Arthur Melo Refuses to Return to Barcelona & Eyes Immediate Juventus Switch
By Tom Gott
Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo failed to report back to Barcelona on Monday and is instead pushing to cancel his contract and join Juventus immediately.
The two clubs have already confirmed that the transfer, which will see Juventus pay up to £75m for Arthur and Barcelona pay close to £60m for Miralem Pjanić, will go through once the Champions League finishes later this summer.
Barcelona will take on Napoli in the last 16 on 8 August, but Marca are one of several Spanish outlets to note that Arthur does not want to play this summer and instead wants Barça to release him from his contract immediately.
Arthur failed to return to Barcelona on Monday for a coronavirus test which all players must pass to be permitted to return to training, instead informing club officials that he is going to stay in Brazil until his Juventus contract kicks in.
AS add that Barça have been left furious by the whole situation. Manager Quique Setién, who was already unimpressed by Arthur's claim that an ankle injury left him unable to finish the league season, has now given up trying to defend the Brazilian.
Disciplinary proceedings have been opened against Arthur, who has instructed his agents to try and negotiate him an early release from his contract. He believes that club officials ignored his desire to stay, suggesting they don't really care about him.
Mundo Deportivo even add that there is evidence to suggest that Arthur told Juventus of his plan to refuse to play, which is only going to add to the tense mood at Camp Nou.
It is thought that despite Barça's frustration towards Arthur, they would still like him to stay and provide some much-needed cover for their midfield. As it stands, Setién has just four senior midfielders to call upon - Ivan Rakitić, Sergi Roberto, Arturo Vidal and Frenkie de Jong - so keeping Arthur would be a real help.
However, until he takes that coronavirus test, he is not permitted to return to training, let alone feature in a competitive game.
In situation's like this, the player very rarely fails to get his wish, although Barcelona will be eager to make Arthur pay for his actions before they let him go.