Barcelona and Juventus agree swap deal for Arthur Melo and Miralem Pjanic

Arthur Melo and Miralem Pjanic will remain with their old clubs until the end of the current season.

Italy: Miralem Pjanić joined Barcelona and Arthur went to Juventus in a direct swap on Monday.

Juventus said it paid a 72 million euros ($80 million) transfer fee for Arthur that could rise to 82 million euros with bonuses. He signed a five-year contract with the eight-time defending Serie A champion.

Barcelona said it paid 60 million euros for Pjanić, with the possibility of another 5 million euros in bonuses. He signed a four-year contract with a buyout clause of 400 million euros.

Miralem Pjanic (file image)

Both midfielders will remain with their old clubs until the end of the current season.

Juventus said it earned 41.8 million euros in the deal through “net of solidarity contribution and auxiliary expenses.”

Meanwhile, Arthur took to social media on Monday after his move from Barcelona to Juventus was confirmed with a message to supporters of both clubs.

Arthur Melo (file image)

The 23-year-old Brazilian wrote, “Thank you for the huge effort Juventus have made to bring me to their club. I know I’m joining a great club and we have a lot of challenges that we can achieve together.”

“For now, we must focus on the present and the many important objectives we have at Barcelona. I’m going to give my all until the end: for my teammates and all the fans. Thank you so much for the support. See you soon.”

• Ahora enfocados en el presente, tenemos objetivos importantes en Barcelona y voy a seguir hasta el final dándolo todo: por mis compañeros y todos los aficionados. Moltes gràcies pel suport! Fins demà. 👍🏻

  — Arthur Melo (@arthurhromelo) June 29, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  Ahora enfocados en el presente, tenemos objetivos importantes en Barcelona y voy a seguir hasta el final dándolo todo: por mis compañeros y todos los aficionados. Moltes gràcies pel suport! Fins demà. 👍🏻

  — Arthur Melo (@arthurhromelo) June 29, 2020

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  Ahora enfocados en el presente, tenemos objetivos importantes en Barcelona y voy a seguir hasta el final dándolo todo: por mis compañeros y todos los aficionados. Moltes gràcies pel suport! Fins demà. 👍🏻

  — Arthur Melo (@arthurhromelo) June 29, 2020

Interestingly, the transfer helps Barca meet their target of a further 70 million euros in revenues from player sales before June 30, in line with the budget the club's members approved last October which forecast income of 124 million euros from transfers.

Barcelona have the highest revenues in world football but their finances have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting ticket sales, television rights and merchandising, leading the club to enact a 70% pay cut for players in April.