Barca complete signing of midfielder Arthur from Gremio

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FC Barcelona and Gremio have agreed the transfer of the player Arthur Melo, following a deal the two clubs agreed to in March.

The cost of the transfer is €31 million with €9 million in variables. The player will sign a contract with the Spanish club that will last until the end of the 2023/24 campaign; his buyout clause is to be set at €400 million. This is Barcelona's first signing this summer.

"Barcelona have asked to bring my arrival forward to this summer," Arthur explained in a news conference on Friday. "I did not participate in the negotiations, nor did I participate directly in my transfer -- it has been a matter between the two clubs.

"I'm very happy to be able to wear the shirt of the club I have always dreamed of playing for, the biggest club in the world. I have been told wonderful things about the club, the city and the fans. I have high expectations about the move," Arthur added.

Arthur joined Gremio in 2010 as a teenager and played a key part in their Copa Libertadores triumph last season.

Born on August 12, 1996 in Goiania, Brazil, Arthur is a talented midfielder who stands out for his passing game. The Brazilian has shown his quality at Gremio, where he has won both the Copa do Brasil and the Copa Libertadores.

He has also played with the Brazil U-17 and U-20 national teams. Despite being summoned to the senior team on a few occasions, he has not yet debuted in the top team, which currently features Philippe Coutinho, another Barcelona midfielder.

The Brazilian midfielder started playing in 2008 in the lower categories, where he played until he made the jump in 2010 to Gremio in Porto Alegre. Arthur went on to debut with the first team, under the orders of famed manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. Arthur continued to gain prominence and was a key player in the 2017 Copa Libertadores, where he was the Man of the Match in the second leg of that year’s final.

The schedule for the presentation of Arthur as a new first team player will be announced shortly, according to a post on the official FC Barcelona website.