Juventus thought they were on the cusp of offloading Arthur Melo to Real Betis, but this operation may have suddenly collapsed.
The 28-year-old has been on the Old Lady’s books since the summer of 2020 when the club completed a controversial swap deal with Barcelona that saw Miralem Pjanic heading in the opposite direction.
The Brazilian endured two forgettable years in Turin followed by an injury-plagued campaign on loan at Liverpool. While he managed to bounce back with a solid season at Fiorentina, the Tuscans opted against activating their option to buy him due to the high costs, and despite having interest from the Premier League and Turkiye, a deal never materialised in the summer, so he’s been an outcast at Thiago Motta’s court since the start of the season.
Therefore, Juventus were delighted to learn that Real Betis were keen to sign Arthur in January, with the negotiations between the two parties swiftly advancing. But while an agreement was seemingly one step away, the deal has now faltered, explains Tuttosport journalist Nicolo Schira.
As the source reveals, the two clubs only had to agree on the player’s wages, and Juventus were expecting the LaLiga side to cover the midfielder’s full salary during his six-month loan spell. The Brazil international earns 5 million euros per year, so his salary for six months would equate to 2.5 million (circa 4.5M in gross).
However, these figures have seemingly warded away the Andalusians who have reportedly shifted their focus towards Enzo Le Fee.
The 24-year-old Frenchman joined Roma last summer from Stade Rennais but has been lost in the shuffle amidst the successive managerial changes at Trigoria. Therefore, the Giallorossi have found an agreement to send the midfielder to Betis who could now drop their interest in Arthur as the latter would cost them double in terms of wages.
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