Barcelona have confirmed the exit of Miralem Pjanic, after a torrid two years at the club.
Pjanic joined from Juventus in the summer of 2020, but barely made it until November before Ronald Koeman had decided that the Bosnian was not in his plans. The following season he left for Besiktas on loan.
Returning this summer, it looked at one point as if he might be part of Xavi Hernandez’s squad, however today the club announced that the two parties had mutually terminated Pjanic’s contract. Sharjah FC in the United Arab Emirates have announced his signing on a free too.
النجم " بيانيتش " ينضم لقلعة المـ👑ـلك
🚨 | نرحب بانضمام الدولي البوسني " Miralem Pjanić " ( 32 عام ) إلى صفوف فريقنا قادماً من نادي برشلونة الإسباني في صفقة انتقال حر بعقد يمتد لموسمين مع أفضلية التمديد #نادي_الشارقة pic.twitter.com/k4oK1tZ2aL
— Sharjah نادي الشارقة (@SharjahFC) September 7, 2022
There was a detail that piqued the curiosity in Barcelona’s announcement. Their official statement read:
“FC Barcelona publicly expresses their gratitude to Pjanic for his professionalism, commitment, dedication, and above all, for having always adapted his contract to the situations and needs of the club.”
That is in stark contrast to the announcement that has accompanied some other players. In particular, supposedly Barcelona were at a stand-off with Martin Braithwaite over his contract situation, with the Danish forward keen to receive the rest of his salary from his contract. Pjanic has reportedly left for free without any pay-out.
Overall, it has to go down as a failed transfer for Barcelona. Pjanic played just 30 times, coming in at a pricey €2m per appearance. Many were suspicious about the cost of the deal to take him to Juventus, as the Italians also paid an elevated fee for Arthur Melo.
