Barcelona president Joan Laporta has cleared up any last doubts. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is joining the Catalans. But some details are still missing from the transfer.
The football world is still waiting for an official announcement on the transfer of the 32-year-old. As Laporta has now explained, this has so far failed to materialise because the necessary documents arrived from London “one minute before the transfer window closed” at midnight. “If everything goes well, we will present Aubameyang at the end of the week,” Laporta told reporters in Barcelona.
The club boss did not reveal what details were still missing. However, the contract period of the ex-Dortmund player has not yet been communicated, for example. Laporta assured, however, that the medical examination had been successfully completed and that the contract with the striker had already been signed.
According to media reports, the Gabonese will join the Catalans on a free transfer. His contract in London is said to have been terminated beforehand. For a long time, the Gabonese’s high salary seemed to be a hurdle.
Barça are currently in fifth place in La Liga, 15 points behind leaders Real Madrid. The fact that only one player has scored more than three league goals so far (Memphis Depay has eight) is one of the Catalans’ biggest problems.
Bitter farewell to Arsenal
But Aubameyang, whose form has fluctuated of late (four Premier League goals in 14 games so far) and who was dropped as Gunners captain – just one of several disciplinary actions – has also been a source of trouble at Arsenal since his new signing in 2020. The pacy striker had played little part in the Africa Cup due to the effects of a Corona illness.
