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In a move that was widely anticipated for days, Arturo Vidal will leave Bayern Munich and head to Camp Nou where he will now be a member of FC Barcelona. Vidal, the fiery Chilean midfielder, was a fan favorite in Munich and maintained his form as a world class midfielder since joining the Bavarians in 2015 from Juventus.
Vidal was initially rumored to be heading to Inter Milan, but Barca swept into the transfer scene to ultimately engage in successful negotiations with both Vidal and Bayern. When the Inter Milan allegedly started to change gears and started to pursue Luka Modrić, Barcelona was able to quickly gain the confidence of Vidal and work through the contractual details with Bayern.
Bayern announced the move on its Twitter account:
Arturo Vidal officially transfers from FC Bayern to FC Barcelona. Thank you for everything, Arturo, and best of luck in Spain. #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/OmPlpbWUCl
— FC Bayern US (@FCBayernUS) August 3, 2018
"On behalf of #FCBayern, I'd like to thank Arturo for three wonderful years. We celebrated may titles in this time, to which he made a significant contribution. He always turned up in important games and we could always rely on him," Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. pic.twitter.com/H1F65rzx3j
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) August 3, 2018
FC Barcelona also acknowledged the move:
❗[BREAKING NEWS] Agreement with Bayern Munich for the transfer of @kingarturo23 https://t.co/znSDr6c0VM
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 3, 2018