It was necessary to scrape the bottom of the drawer before finding any trace of a fulfilled Arthur Melo. Arriving in 2018 with the label of Brazilian hope at Barça, the midfielder showed great promise but ultimately had no future. In 2020, he was the subject of an alleged exchange with Miralem Pjanic, then at Juventus. A simple writing game in reality, and a back-and-forth manipulation aimed at disguising the balance sheets of the two clubs, then in deficit (Arthur had cost Juve €72 million on paper, Pjanic €60 at Barça). Also the start of a painful decline for the Brazilian. In Piedmont, Arthur experienced two relatively relative seasons, accumulating repeated injuries. Eager to get back on track, he joined Liverpool last year as a joker, while Keita, Elliott and Oxlade-Chamberlain took up residence in the infirmary.
But on the banks of the Mersey, the former Grêmio player, handicapped by his serious injury contracted in October, finally experienced a resounding failure (he only played 13 minutes of play over the entire season). After such a setback, it’s difficult to get your head back on track. Rumors of sending him to Brazil began to circulate, but eventually a beam of light appeared in Tuscany. In July, the 26-year-old joined Fiorentina on loan, while he remains under contract with Juve until 2026. “I was not 100% convinced by the Fio project. It was coach Vincenzo Montella who convinced me that Florence was the place I had to go., he declared. Five months later, this declaration must resonate in the head of the player, finally satisfied.
He is a starter in a club aiming for the C1
Since his arrival at the Viola, Arthur Melo has established himself as a full-fledged starter in Vincenzo Montella’s eleven. Most often aligned in a double-pivot with the Ghanaian Alfred Duncan, the 27-year-old player shines and has already participated in 25 meetings since August. Obviously, this situation could lead Fiorentina to review its plans at the end of the season. In recent days, the Italian press has also mentioned the possible lifting of the player’s purchase option of €20 million in the event of qualification in C1 (Fio is 4th and virtually qualified). For his part, his agent Federico Pastorello told him sky that his player was open to discussions: “he is very happy at Fio, but his salary is substantial. Arthur has shown his availability to discuss the continuation at the end of the season. ». An outing that should delight fans, already delighted by the performance of their new favorite.
For Enzo Bucchioni, a well-respected Italian journalist in the industry, Arthur was quite simply the missing link: “I would like to replay the final (from Europa Conference League lost against West Ham) with a true creator and not with (Sofyan) Amrabat in this position. It’s good that you tried to make it work, but now with Arthur it’s something elsehe declared on Pentasport. Liverpool didn’t suit Arthur, but if you notice, Pirlo used him a lot at Juve. If he hadn’t had all these difficulties, he certainly wouldn’t be here today.“. For its part, the daily Tuttosport had dared in recent days to draw a parallel with Dunga, captain of Brazil in 1998 and spent with the Viola between 1988 and 1992. If Arthur has never won the World Cup, he could be offered a new opportunity to participate at the Copa América with the Seleção in June. A competition that he had already won in 2019.
