Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has left Arsenal by mutual consent, joining Barcelona on a free transfer and signing a contract until June 2025, with a buyout clause set at €100 million.
Arsenal and Barcelona had been in talks for a while about the 32-year-old striker and managed to strike a deal ahead of the transfer deadline. Auba will be heading to Catalonia on Monday in an attempt to push through a deal. Barcelona said in a statement on Wednesday that the club and player have “an option to agree on departure” in 2023.
The departure of the Gabonian hasn’t been a clean one, considering his disciplinary issues at the club which led him to be benched by the Gunners coach Mikel Arteta missing several major matches that left a bitter relationship within the club.
The striker was also stripped of his captaincy in December as his relationship with Arteta continued to deteriorate after a series of disciplinary issues before being left behind as the first-team squad travelled to Dubai for a winter training break at the end of January. Arsenal is now eager to let go of Aubameyang, who has been costing the club £250,000 a week.
The Premier League club confirmed Aubameyang’s departure on Tuesday and said: “We wish Auba all the best for the next chapter in his career and thank him for his contribution to the club.”
Aubameyang, who had 18 months remaining on his contract, has not played for the club since Dec. 6 and was sent home from the Africa Cup of Nations after medical tests had shown he had cardiac lesions. He had previously tested positive for COVID-19 upon arriving in Cameroon for the tournament.
Arsenals wish Aubameyang farewell
Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018 and won the Premier League Golden Boot in his first full season in 2018/19. He scored both goals in the 2020 FA Cup final win over Chelsea and scored again at Wembley to win the FA Community Shield against Liverpool at the start of last season.
Auba had been the Gunners captain for the past two-and-a-half seasons and made 163 appearances, scoring 92 goals in all competitions.
The 32-year-old was named African Footballer of the Year in 2015 and won the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) in 2017 during his time with Borussia Dortmund. His previous clubs have been AC Milan, Dijon (loan), Lille (loan), Monaco (loan) and Saint-Etienne, together with representing Gabon 72 times.
The question now is, what players are going to step up to take on the role Auba had for the team and how will this move after the club after its poor performance in the recent matches. Time will only tell.
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