From being regarded as the future of the Barcelona midfield unit, to struggling to make even a single appearance on loan at Liverpool, Arthur Melo has endured a steep decline in his stature in recent years.
Barça signed Arthur from Gremio in 2018 for a fee worth around €31 million, but the Brazilian was unable to live up to expectations. Two years later, he was shipped off to Juventus as part of an ill-advised swap deal involving Miralem Pjanic.
In two seasons in Juve, the midfielder failed to find a foothold and joined Liverpool on loan last summer in the hope of getting game-time.
But, injuries, lack of fitness, and difficulties adapting to the team have meant that Arthur has not played a single minute of Premier League football in England. His only appearance for Liverpool has come in the UEFA Champions League, where he played 13 minutes against Napoli.
The 26-year-old former Barcelona man recently sat down for an interview with Ruben Uria of GOAL, during which he revealed that he still follows the Blaugrana and hopes that Xavi Hernandez & co. win the La Liga title.
“Of course, I follow Barça’s current affairs. I’ve seen the games. It looks like they are going to win the league. I’m very fond of Barça. Above all, the fans, who have given me everything. I have a lot of good memories and I hope they become champions,” Arthur said.
When quizzed who was the best midfielder he had played with, the on-loan Liverpool ace named Barcelona captain and icon Sergio Busquets, saying:
“Busquets. He has a lot of quality. He is an extremely intelligent person. He plays in a very special, complicated place, where players appear everywhere, he has the ball a lot, he takes risks at Barça and with Spain, but Busquets is very careful, he hardly loses balls and he delivers perfectly.”
On being asked to name the best forward he had played with, Arthur appeared conflicted between two former Barcelona stars in Neymar and Lionel Messi, who is being linked with a return to Camp Nou, as well as Cristiano Ronaldo. Ultimately, he opted for his compatriot, as he said:
“It is very complicated. Cristiano, Messi and Neymar. It’s not easy, but I’ll choose Neymar, because in the end he provides goals, assists, he’s intelligent, he can decide a game whenever he wants, and he’s unbalanced. He’s one of the best in the world and on top of that, he’s my friend.”
