Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joins Barcelona on free transfer
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has signed for Barcelona on a free transfer from Arsenal, as the club became willing to allow the 32-year-old to leave after stripping him of the captaincy in December following a disciplinary issue.
The 32-year-old did not play for the club after December 6, and was left out of their squad for their warm-weather training camp in Dubai and leaves the Emirates Stadium inside the final 18 months of a contract worth £350,000 a week.
Aubameyang couldn’t feature for Gabon as well as he was sent home early from the Africa Cup of Nations in January because of ongoing health issues.
The striker missed Gabon’s draw with Ghana after scans revealed “heart lesions” following a bout of Covid, although later scans gave him the all-clear.
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The Premier League club are estimated to be making a saving of around £25m in wages with Aubameyang’s departure but his exit means Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta’s will finish the season with just two recognised strikers in his squad, with both Eddie Nketiah and Alex Lacazette out of contract in the summer.
The deal had looked off earlier on Deadline Day after talks broke down over the financial part of the deal.
But it is understood that Aubameyang, who flew out to Barcelona on Monday morning, took a significant pay cut to facilitate the move.
Aubameyang scored 92 goals in 163 games for Arsenal since a £56m arrival from Borussia Dortmund in 2018.
Barcelona feared the move was dead earlier on transfer deadline day even though Aubameyang had flown to Spain and had also been linked with a switch to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr.
The former Arsenal captain will sign a one-and-a-half-year deal at the Nou Camp.
