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Both Bayern Munich and Barcelona have now officially confirmed that Arturo Vidal will be joining the Spanish giants on a three-year deal worth approximately €30m. The midfielder joins Barcelona after three seasons with Bayern, helping the club to three consecutive Bundesliga titles, a German cup, and a run to the Champions League semi-finals last season.
Vidal had been heavily linked with a move to Inter Milan for the majority of this summer’s transfer window. However, a move to the Serie A giants fell through, and Barcelona came into the picture with a better offer for the Chilean.
Per a report by BILD, Vidal’s agent, Fernando Felicevich, offered the midfielder to all “major clubs” at the start of the transfer window, with the idea being that he could broker a significant deal that pleased all parties. According to the report, the move to Inter Milan fell through because the club wanted to purchase Vidal on a loan with the option to buy him after the loan spell expired. However, both Vidal and Felicevich were adamant that they wanted a permanent move somewhere, especially considering his age (31). Additionally, Inter were only prepared to offer the Chilean €4.5m per year while Barcelona were readily able to offer him €9m per year.
Felicevich was also attracted to the idea of Barcelona because the club just lost Paulinho to the Chinese Super League, against the wishes of manager Ernesto Valverde, leaving an opening for Vidal to see some solid minutes. At Inter, he [Vidal] would likely be competing for time against new signing Radja Nainggolan, Joao Mario, Marcelo Brozovic, and Matias Vecino; all of whom are younger than Vidal.
For Bayern, this deal makes sense; they have a plethora of central midfielders, especially with new signing Leon Goretzka. At 31 years of age, Vidal isn’t getting any younger and he’s had his fair share of injury problems in the past three seasons. Selling him for only (approximately) €7.5m less than they paid for him, especially now, is a good bit of business.