Transfer Centre

Gremio: 'Arthur will not join Barcelona before December'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior ReporterPublished: 25 May 2018 5:31 PM

Barcelona have "no chance" of signing Arthur from Gremio until December at the earliest, according to the Brazilian club's president Romildo Bolzan.

Gremio president Romildo Bolzan has rejected claims that Brazilian midfielder Arthur will be allowed to join Barcelona before December.

Barca reached an agreement with the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A side earlier this year over a price for Arthur, which could rise to around £35m.

Following Andres Iniesta's departure this week, Barcelona chief Josep Maria Bartomeu hinted that the Catalan giants would hand over the agreed sum and bring the 21-year-old to Camp Nou this summer.

Bolzan insists that Arthur is staying put until the end of the Brazilian football season, though, unless his contract is bought out in full.

"There's no chance that Arthur leaves the club in the coming months because it's already written down," he told Sport.

"There's a contract signed and that is not a possibility. Barcelona have never brought to the table any interest in signing Arthur halfway through the [Brazilian] season.

"The only right that Barca have is an option to buy him, in which case they must do the transaction before July 15."

Former Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari recently backed Arthur to successfully fill the void left by Iniesta at Barcelona.