What Arthur has done shows lack of respect for Barcelona and his teammates, asserts Josep Maria Bartomeu

While many have condemned the swap deal that Barcelona and Juventus engineered which would see Arthur Melo and Miralem Pjanic swap sides, the deal went through on the basic assumption that both the midfielders would complete the current extended season. The two midfielders will start the 2020/21 seasons at Juventus and Barcelona respectively but, while Miralem Pjanic finished the season as one of Juventus’ main players, Arthur struggled for game-time which has seen him take drastic action.

The Brazilian has decided that he won’t play for Barcelona again this season as he refused to return to Spain after going back to Brazil during the post-La Liga break handed to the players by Quique Setien. That does cause problems for Barcelona in their upcoming Champions League clash against Napoli and has seen Josep Maria Bartomeu lash out at Arthur. The Barcelona president, sternly, admitted that the 23-year-old has shown a lack of respect for the club and that it’s “unjustifiable and totally incomprehensible”.

"What Arthur has done shows a lack of respect for his team-mates because the team wants to do well in the Champions League. It is not logical that playing for such an important title, a player decides to remove himself. It is unjustifiable and totally incomprehensible. We reached the agreement that until the Champions League ended he would continue playing for Barca, both in the league and in the Champions League," Bartomeu said, reported Goal.

“He is a player who has a certain importance in the team and who could help us. But he did not appear from the return of the mini-vacations. It is an unacceptable act of indiscipline. And that is why we have opened a file for him, because there is no argument to justify his absence. He called and said, 'I will not return, I will stay in Brazil'. It is his decision. No one has given him permission."