Arthur refuses to play in the Champions League for Barcelona
Arthur has told Barcelona he will not play for the club again and is refusing to participate in the upcoming Champions League match against Napoli.
Arthur recently agreed to move to Juventus for €72m with Miralem Pjanic heading in the other direction, also for a big fee.
Barcelona announced that they had reached an agreement with Juve for the transfer of the talented midfielder on 29 June, with a good portion of the league season still remaining.
Arthur barely played in the culmination of the Liga season and featured for just four minutes in his last appearance for the club against Celta. He wasn’t even named among the substitutes for the last game of the campaign versus Alaves.
Arthur previously stated on social media that even after the transfer was confirmed he would give his all for the Catalan side, before moving to Turin.
But the player has backtracked due to his lack of minutes after the deal was agreed, while head coach Quique Setien suggested he would only play again if it was absolutely necessary.
Following that, Arthur returned to Brazil for a break before training recommenced for the Champions League.
On Monday, Barca players underwent their latest series of Covid-19 testing ahead of their training schedule, but the 23-year-old didn’t appear, choosing instead to remain in Brazil before moving to Italy.
Setien faces a major selection dilemma in midfield as he is already without Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal against Napoli due to suspension.