Getty Miralem Pjanic has joined Barcelona from Juventus
Barcelona announced on Monday that Miralem Pjanic has agreed to join the club from Serie A champions Juventus on a four-year deal.
The Catalan giants released an official statement to confirm the capture of the 30-year-old Bosnia and Herzegovina international.
“FC Barcelona and Juventus have reached an agreement for the transfer of player Miralem Pjanić. The cost of the operation will be 60 million euros plus 5m in variables. The player will sign a contract with the club for the next four seasons, until the end of the 2023/24 season, with a termination clause of 400 million. The player will remain with Juventus until the official competitions for the 2019/20 season are over.”
Pjanic will replace Brazil international Arthur. Barcelona confirmed earlier in the day that the 23-year-old will join Juventus at the end of the season for a fee of €72m ($81m) plus €10m (€11m) in variables.
Pjanic Must Win Over Barcelona Fans
Barcelona’s newest signing will need to win over the club’s supporters when he arrives at the club. He replaces Arthur, a player seven years his junior, who was popular at the Camp Nou and initially insisted he wanted to stay when speculation first arose in April.
Pjanic has also previously admitted to a fondness for Barcelona’s fierce rivals Real Madrid which will not go down well with supporters of the Catalan giants.
Back in 2016, when he was still with Roma, he told newspaper Oslobodjenje that he was a Los Blancos fan in his younger days.
“Now I am happy at Roma but I don’t know if I’ll leave or not in the summer. If they ask me for my favorite team, I will tell them that as a kid I always liked Real Madrid.”
Real Madrid are currently two points clear of Barcelona in La Liga and will pip their rivals to the league title if they win their last six games of the season.
What Will Pjanic Bring to Barcelona?
Pjanic is an experienced operator who can offer Barcelona plenty in the middle of the park. The 30-year-old is a hard-working midfielder who is excellent in possession and can control the game from deep.
He’s won close to 100 caps at international level and will be hoping to capture his fourth league title with Juventus this season. Maurizio Sarri’s side are four points clear in Serie A with 10 games of the season remaining.
On the pitch, he has the potential to fit in nicely at Barcelona but given he’s already the wrong side of 30 he’s certainly not a long-term option.
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