Barca sell Arthur to Juventus, buy Pjanic
BARCELONA: Barcelona have reached an agreement to sell Brazil midfielder Arthur Melo to Juventus for a fee of €72 million and signed Bosnian Miralem Pjanic from the Italian champions for €60 million, the clubs said on Monday.
The 23-year-old, known simply as Arthur, will remain at the Camp Nou until the end of the 2019-20 season, which has been extended until August because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, before moving to Turin.
Arthur joined Barca from Brazilian side Gremio in July 2018 and was initially hailed as the heir to former club great Xavi Hernandez.
Pjanic, 30, will also move to the
Camp Nou at the end of the campaign and sign a four-year contract containing a release clause of €400 million, Barca said in a statement.
Bosnian international Pjanic has been at Juve since 2016, having previously played for AS Roma plus French sides Lyon and Metz.
Meanwhile, Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, 42, and defender Giorgio Chiellini, 35, have signed new one-year contracts to stay with the club until the end of the 2020-21 season, the Italian champions announced on Monday.
Both players are aiming to help Juve win a ninth consecutive league title and their first Champions League trophy since 1996.
VALENCIA FIRE COACH
Valencia have sacked coach Albert Celades and appointed sporting director Voro until the end of the season, the La Liga club said.
The team have picked up only four points in five matches since the season restarted after the Covid-19 hiatus, slipping way behind in contention for Champions League qualification.
Voro, a former Valencia player who has had a variety of roles at the club, steps into the position as caretaker coach for the sixth time.