Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has officially been announced as a Barcelona player, following his arrival from Arsenal on Monday on a free transfer.
The 32-year-old has put pen to paper on a contract until 2025, but there is the option for the two to part ways in 2023. His release clause is 100 million euros.
Minutes before Barcelona confirmed Aubameyang’s arrival, the club were able to register him with LaLiga.
Aubameyang landed in Barcelona on Monday and was officially released by Arsenal before midnight on the same transfer deadline day. He then passed his medical around 22:00 GMT and arrived at the club’s offices to conclude the signing half an hour later.
Barcelona were in no hurry to register Aubameyang, as he joined the Catalan club on a free transfer and therefore they had more time to get everything in order. They finally completed the paperwork on Wednesday.
Although Aubameyang had not yet been registered nor been announced by Barcelona, he trained under Xavi Hernandez’s for the first time on Tuesday.
Given the fact that Ousmane Dembele did not leave Barcelona during the January transfer window, as had been hoped, Aubameyang has only been able to be registered with LaLiga because he has taken a significant pay cut.
However, it is expected that his money will be backdated, so next year he will receive a large salary increase.
Barcelona were able to bring in Aubameyang, Ferran Torres and Adama Traore in January, so they will now compete with Ansu Fati, Martin Braithwaite, Memphis Depay, Luuk de Jong, Abde Ezzalzouli and Ferran Jutgla for a spot in Xavi’s starting XI.
Dembele is another forward that Barcelona have at their disposal, but it remains to be seen if the club will stick to their word and make him sit in the stands for the remainder of the season.
