The President of Brazilian outfit Gremio has today firmly denied reports that an agreement has been reached which will see star midfielder Arthur move to Barcelona next year.
Prodigious starlet
Arthur, a 21-year-old Brazilian midfielder, has long been regarded as one of the finest young talents in South American football.
The gifted Selecao star recently guided Gremio to their first Copa Libertadores title since 1995, earning man of the match honours during his side’s second-leg versus Argentine outfit Lanus.
Arthur has already been heavily linked with a number of Europe’s top sides, with all of Inter Milan, Manchester United, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and more having expressed an interest in his services.
Camp Nou bound?
However, it is the latter of these sides who have been by far the most-persistently touted as a future destination for the youngster, with Coutinho’s arrival at the Camo Nou last month having done little to deter rumours that Barcelona are still pushing for a deal for Arthur.
Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo even went as far as to claim yesterday afternoon that the Blaugrana had finalised an agreement with Gremio, which would see Arthur arrive in Catalunya next January.
‘No deal’
This report has since been backed by a number of other publications around Europe, but, as per an update from Gremio President Romildo Bolzan Junior during an interview with Globoesporte earlier today, no such agreement exists: (rough translation from Portuguese below)
‘We were not told that Arthur was sold. I will take into account that it is a journalistic matter that may have come from internal sources. But that there are negotiations, there are, that there are advances in some parts of the negotiations, there are. One of them is that Arthur will stay with us for a while, but the deal (with Barcelona) has not been finalized and does not have a definite proposal. You (Barcelona) have your proposal, but you have not received a reply. Therefore, I will leave as a press speculation, not a business situation. Grêmio has no close deal with Barcelona.’
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