Pjanic and Arthur: Barcelona and Juventus' swap benefitted nobody
Karan Tejwani
- 8 Sept 2022 11:45 BST
- 3 min read
On Wednesday, Barcelona released Miralem Pjanic from his contract, allowing him to complete a move to United Arab Emirates outfit Sharjah FC.
The termination brings an end to one of the more pointless swap deals in recent history, as Barcelona sent Arthur to Juventus, and got Pjanic in return in this 2020 deal.
The move was facilitated by both clubs in order to balance the books, rather than have any sporting significance, and it has been evident in that way – neither team improved with those players.
Now, with Arthur also gone on loan to Liverpool from Juventus, it has shown how both clubs didn’t benefit, and that the transfer proved to be a massive waste of time.
Related articles
Amortisation forced transfer
When the transfer was agreed, Pjanic’s transfer to Barcelona was registered as a €70 million move, while Arthur’s move to Juventus had a value of €76 million plus bonuses, totaling €80 million.
At the time, Financial Fair Play rules meant that both clubs were able to report €60 million profit on their books, due to player amortisation.
Barcelona paid €30 million to sign Arthur from Gremio back in 2018 on a six-year deal, so by the FFP standards, his value decreased by €5 million each season, making him worth €20 million in 2020.
[ÚLTIMA HORA]
Acuerdo para la desvinculación del contrato de Pjanić con el FC Barcelona— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) September 7, 2022
The €80 million sale to Juventus meant that the Catalan side could show a €60 million profit on their player, and Barcelona were happy to do that.
Similarly, Pjanic joined Juventus from Roma in a €35 million deal on a five-year contract – his value decreased by €7 million every season, and when he signed a new five-year deal in 2018, his value was €21 million.
That amounted to €4.2 million every season, or a €13 million value on Juventus’ books, so his 2020 sale brought Juventus a €57 million profit.
Now, both players have left their new clubs, with Arthur unlikely to have a Juventus future even after his Liverpool loan spell ends at the end of this campaign.
