Chile international Arturo Vidal arrived at Inter Milan on Monday, after the Serie A club signed him from FC Barcelona for a fee of approximately $1.2 million. This move sees Vidal reunite with former manager Antonio Conte, with whom he won three consecutive Serie A titles while playing for Juventus.
The midfielder was one of several players who were frozen out of the Blaugranes squad by new Barca manager Ronald Koeman, who is looking to restructure his squad with younger talents. Upon hearing the news, Conte made a personal request to sign the box to box midfielder.
This transfer sees Vidal return to the Italian top flight after five seasons. In 2015, he left Juventus for Bayern Munich. Following his time in Germany, Vidal spent two seasons in Spain playing for Barca, during which time he struggled to secure a place in the starting lineup.
Inter Milan announced Vidal’s arrival in Italy via their official Twitter page.
Among those who wished Vidal well for on his new journey was Barca captain Lionel Messi, who paid tribute to Vidal on Instagram on Sunday by saying, “I only knew you from playing against you and I always thought you were a phenomenon but after being lucky enough to get to know you personally you surprised me even more. We shared many things in the last two years and you made a huge impact on the dressing room and will be dearly missed. I wish you all the best luck in your new club and I’m sure our paths will cross again.”
