Arturo Vidal officially completes move from Bayern Munich to Barcelona
Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal completed his move from Bayern Munich to Spanish giants Barcelona on Monday after completing a medical exam.
Arturo Vidal completed his move to Barcelona today after completing his medical in the Catalan capital. Bayern Munich reached an agreement with the Spanish club over the weekend. The two clubs have not yet revealed the transfer fee, but it is reportedly in the region of €20-30 million.
Barcelona came up with the offer at the last moment, as Vidal was very close to joining Inter Milan. The Blaugranas reportedly wanted a thorough medical for Vidal, though, as he has endured knee issues in the past. Vidal most recently underwent a knee surgery in April and missed the final two months of the season.
Bayern Munich wanted to offload a number of star players in this transfer window and Vidal featured at the top of the list. Another player the Bavarians are reportedly ready to offload is defender Jerome Boateng. The German is reportedly subject to strong interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United. Vidal was linked with numerous clubs throughout the window but always wanted to extend his stay in Munich.
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Niko Kovac has admitted multiple times his desire to trim Bayern’s big squad. The German champions have a plethora of midfield options after the arrival of Leon Goretzka and return of Renato Sanches.
Vidal would have struggled to get regular gametime this season or made it hard for younger players to do the same. This transfer produced a satisfactory outcome for all parties involved.
Vidal enjoyed a trophy-laden three year spell after joining Bayern from Juventus in 2015. He left the club with three successive Bundesliga titles and one DFB Pokal. The Chilean settled quickly in Germany as he had previously played for Bayer Leverkusen. The box-to-box midfielder was key for all the three managers he played under during his time at the club.
Bayern Munich are likely to offload one more midfielder by the end of the month. Thiago Alcantara has been heavily linked with a move away from the club. The Spanish midfielder reportedly wants to re-join Barcelona. However, Barca have not made any concrete offers for him and their move for Vidal likely blocks any move for Thiago. Moreover, Bayern officials have repeatedly admitted that the Spaniard remains in their plans for next season.
Next. Bayern Munich must be tactically flexible says Niko Kovac. dark
Sebastian Rudy is another midfielder who may leave the club in this window. The German has been linked with RB Leipzig and Schalke. He struggled to get regular gametime last season, but he is still eager to fight for his place in the starting lineup. Bayern are likely to listen to offers if Rudy requests a transfer. Bayern are unlikely to sign any more players this month as they are happy with the current squad.