Arthur Melo to Return to Barcelona to Terminate His Contract

Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo is reportedly set to return to Catalonia to personally negotiate the termination of his current FC Barcelona contract.

Arthur, who will join Juventus after the end of the 2019-20 campaign, did not return to training once it resumed after the LaLiga season had concluded. He feels he has been mistreated by the club as they sold him to Juve to balance the books, and he still maintains that he will not play for Barcelona again, according to Marca.

Barcelona have understandably been irked by the player's act, with club president Josep Bartomeu terming it 'unacceptable'. The president had also said 'there will be a type of sanction and fine'.

Arthur has not played a single minute for the Catalans since his move to Juventus became official on June 29. The 23-year-old's relationship with Barca coach Quique Setien is also said to have become non-existent following the transfer deal.

Meanwhile, Barcelona's focus will now be on their game against SSC Napoli in the UEFA Champions League round-of-16. With the first-leg ending in a 1-1 draw, the tie can go either way in the second-leg, which will take place at Camp Nou on Saturday night. Barca have been inconsistent since restart, which saw them lose the LaLiga title to Real Madrid. Messi and co will be hoping they don't repeat the mistakes and progress to the quarter-finals.