Arthur, the penultimate problem for Setién

In recent times, if Barça puts on a circus, the dwarfs will grow. When it seemed that the fights and the bad faces due to the bad end of the League became apparent normality after a conspiracy for the Champions League between the players first, and with the coach later, the problems knock on the door of the disputed Quique Setién. Now, the Cantabrian technician must deal with the rebellious situation in which the midfielder has declared Arthur Melo.

The Catalan club has decided to open a disciplinary file to the Brazilian for not complying with the rules of the internal regime and the health protocol and not showing up on Monday to undergo the PCR test required by UEFA to detect if it is free of Covid-19. It was an obligation for everyone before being able to resume training considering the return match of the round of 16 that he expects against Gennaro Gattuso’s Napoli, on August 8 at the Camp Nou.

Arthur is not and is not expected, since he is still in Brazil and has no intention of returning to rejoin the team’s discipline, according to sources from his environment cited by Efe. The player, signed by Juventus, he does not want to play more than Barça and risk an eventual injury, but the entity chaired by Josep maría Bartomeu wants to assert their rights, will not give in and has no intention of early termination of a contract that would normally end on June 30, but which runs until the end of the Champions League for the a matter of force majeure of the delay caused by the pandemic.

But there is more, since from that same environment the player justifies his decision by appealing to an alleged conversation between the Barça coach and Arthur himself, to whom he would have communicated that he was not going to play with this team anymore, before the end of the League championship. Arthur is also upset by the formula in which the Catalan club has handled his transfer to Juventus. Vhe left the day after the game in Vigo, underwent a medical examination in Turin and signed with the Piedmontese until June 2025 for € 72 million, plus ten in variables. However, the contract does not enter into force until September 1, just after the Champions League, a competition in which Barça and Juventus are still in contention.

“Basically everything is a matter of dignity” they assure from that footballer’s environment. They consider that the player feels belittled, since after signing with Juventus He has continued to “work hard,” but since then he hasn’t played a minute. Arthur’s idea is to reach an agreement to close the contractual relationship with Barça a month before it expires because he knows that “he is not going to play again” with the Barça shirt, something that according to those close to him especially hurts the Brazilian, who would have liked to say goodbye in a more decent way.

This version of the interested party contradicts what they say from Barça. «He informed us that he was not coming, that he was staying in Brazil and we remind him that he did not have a permit and that he had to join immediately. If he does not return, a disciplinary file will be opened, “said a spokesman for the Catalan team. From the club it is suspected that after signing with Juventus, Arthur avoids any risk. I already knowHe lost the match against Valladolid due to tonsillitis, the match against Alavés due to ankle discomfort and he reluctantly played in Balaídos for only four minutes.

Barça does not want to negotiate with Arthur about a contract termination. And he argues that you will not be able to count on the Bosnian Miralem Pjanic, the Juventus player who has signed Barça in this kind of barter, until the beginning of September. In addition, for that second round of the Champions League against Naples, Setién suffers the Busquets and Arturo Vidal casualties by sanction and he only has De Jong, Rakitic, Sergi Roberto and Riqui Puig available as midfielders.