What everyone thought is just a rumour, is now a reality. FC Barcelona have sealed the deal and reached an agreement to sign Chile midfielder, Arturo Vidal from Bayern Munich on a three-year contract.
Before the agreement, Arturo Vidal was heavily linked with Inter Milan.
As just as the transfer is surprising, the deal has shocked the world too. For the La Liga champions, it cost only €20 million (£18m/$23m) to bring out the Bayern midfielder for the Spanish club.
However, Inter Milan and AC Milan both were in the race to sign Vidal. Inter Milan was quite ahead in the race until Barcelona showed their interest. And now an agreement has finally been reached between both the parties.
FC Barcelona’s official website released a statement on Saturday,
“FC Barcelona and FC Bayern Munich have reached an agreement for the transfer of player Arturo Vidal. The agreement with Arturo Vidal is for the next three seasons and is pending medical review that the player will pass in the coming days. FC Barcelona will soon inform of the arrival of the player and the agenda of the presentation.”
Meanwhile, Arturo Vidal himself has also confirmed his departure from Bayern and thanked the fans.
“Thanks to Bayern and all the fans. I really enjoyed my time in Munich. I would like to thank the club for giving me another chance to take on a new challenge in Barcelona.”
Injuries restricted Vidal to 17 Bundesliga starts in the 2017-18 season. However, Vidal is Barcelona’s fourth major signing of the transfer window. Along with the Bayern midfielder, they have signed Arthur Melo, Malcom and Sevilla defender Clement Lenglet.
After bringing Arthur at the Camp Nou, manager Ernesto Valverde signalled his intention to add one more player to his midfield options. The fans were eagerly waiting to see who’s the fourth one and they have finally got their answer after the announcement of Arturo Vidal.