This Thursday, the English press reported that both Chelsea and Manchester United have hopes to overcome Barcelona in the race for the GrĂȘmio midfielder Arthur.
The story claimed that since the Catalan side have already spent money on Yerri Mina and Philippe Coutinho this month, the English clubs would have a chance.
The news obviously had some coverage in Brazil, where there’s still a huge belief that Arthur will end up joining Barcelona.
Website Globo Esporte took the chance to speak to the player’s agent Jorge Machado, who confirmed that the Catalan side are still leading the race, despite the Chelsea and Manchester United claims.
“Next week there may be news on this subject. For now, we talked and received representatives from Barcelona, although they haven’t sent a bid to GrĂȘmio yet,” Machado told Globo Esporte.
Globo Esporte has also learned that Barcelona’s two signing this month shouldn’t block Arthur’s transfer. They are said to be preparing the offer to GrĂȘmio, but it shouldn’t reach the âŹ50m release clause.
This week, Arthur was invited to one of Sportv’s shows, and was asked about the meetings he had with Barcelona officials, where he even took a picture with the club’s shirt: “There was a conversation and this photo generated a lot of speculation.
“I set it aside now, I told my father and my manager to sort it. I already met their representative, I really liked what they said to me, but now I leave it to them. My focus is only on playing football.”
