'We have not received any offer from Barcelona for Arthur'
The Arthur saga took another twist on Friday after Gremio's president insisted that the club have not received an offer from Barcelona for the in-demand midfielder.
Romildo Bolzan Junior made the statement when speaking to the press ahead of Saturday's Club World Cup final against Real Madrid, with attention quickly switching to the man that is attracting interest from across Europe.
Nevertheless, Arthur will not have a chance to put himself in the shop window tomorrow, with the playmaker currently sidelined by injury, something that Bolzan confimed to the press: "He's an important absence, yes. He'll return in January."
"He's a playmaker, a match-winner, he's got great ball-retention skills, good passing... He's a player that gives balance to the side and he's very good technically," explained the Gremio president.
Naturally, Bolzan was asked about the now infamous photo of Arthur wearing a Barcelona shirt, saying: "It surprised me because Gremio knew that he was going for lunch, but it was only supposed to be a get to know you meal with a Barca representative and I don't even know who that was."
"It was a strange situation, a mess, a sitaution that they put the player in without meaning to. That really annoyed Gremio, but nevermind, it's already in the past," he added.
Finally, Bolzan was keen to clear up the doubts persisting about Arthur's future: "There has been no offer from Barcelona to Gremio, none. They have not contacted us and if they did we would tell them that the only way to sign him is to pay his release clause of €50m," he insisted.