Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has confirmed that Mikel Arteta was the reason he left Arsenal, who will continue to pay him the equivalent of £230,000 a week until the summer.
Aubameyang was unveiled by Barcelona yesterday after completing his free transfer this week. Before mutually terminating his contract, leaving him clear to complete a dream switch to Spain, Arsenal agreed a settlement in the region of £7million with Aubameyang, to be paid in instalments. Barca will be solely responsible for Aubameyang’s salary next season, meaning they will have to fork out considerably more than the £100,000 a week they are paying him for the rest of this campaign.
But the total figure will not approach Aubameyang’s Arsenal deal, worth up to £350,000 a week including bonuses, with the 32-year-old sacrificing wages to help make his Barcelona move happen.
Arteta was key to Aubameyang signing his three-year Arsenal contract in September 2020 but the pair’s relationship was broken beyond repair after the Spaniard froze the striker out of his plans and stripped him of the captaincy following a breach of discipline.
Aubameyang said: ‘I think the problem was only with him (Arteta) and he made the decision. I can’t say much. He wasn’t very happy, I stayed very calm and that’s it. ‘They were difficult months but that’s how football is sometimes. For my part I have never wanted to do something wrong and now I think that this is the past and I want to think about the present and right now that is my answer.’
Aubameyang added: ‘I feel ready. I’ve been very lucky to play in the Premier League. That’s helped me a lot. I’ve always had the dream of playing in La Liga. This is the chance of a lifetime. Everyone knows that Barca is one of the best clubs in the world.’
