Arthur Melo

Arthur Henrique Ramos de Oliveira Melo was born on 12 August 1996 in Goiânia, Goiás, and became known professionally as Arthur Melo. A central midfielder, he developed in Goiás’s youth system before joining Grêmio in 2010. He reached Grêmio’s senior side in 2015, but his breakthrough came during the 2017 Copa Libertadores campaign. Used by coach Renato Portaluppi, Arthur started both legs of the final against Lanús as Grêmio won 3–1 on aggregate, securing the club’s third Libertadores title. He also played in the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup, where Grêmio lost the final 1–0 to Real Madrid. Barcelona announced his signing in March 2018, activating a €31 million release clause, and he formally joined that summer. Arthur made his competitive Barcelona debut in the Spanish Super Cup against Sevilla on 12 August 2018; Barcelona won 2–1 in Tangier. His first league season brought the 2018–19 La Liga title. He scored his first Barcelona goal against Osasuna in August 2019 and made 72 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring four times. At international level, he debuted for Brazil in a 2–0 friendly win over the United States in September 2018. In June 2020, Barcelona and Juventus agreed a transaction that sent Arthur to Turin and Miralem Pjanić to Barcelona. Arthur signed a five-year Juventus contract and won the 2020 Supercoppa Italiana, appearing as a substitute in the 2–0 final victory over Napoli. His Juventus spell included 63 appearances across all competitions. In September 2022, he moved to Liverpool on a season-long loan. His only senior Liverpool appearance was as a late substitute in a 4–1 Champions League defeat at Napoli. A thigh injury required surgery in October and prevented him from establishing himself at Anfield. Arthur returned to Italy and joined Fiorentina on loan for 2023–24. Under Vincenzo Italiano, he became a regular in a side that reached the UEFA Europa Conference League final, although Fiorentina lost 1–0 to Olympiacos in Athens. Arthur played in that final and was replaced during the second half. He made 48 appearances in all competitions, contributing to Fiorentina’s eighth-place Serie A finish and another Conference League final. In May 2018, he was named among Brazil’s twelve standby players for the FIFA World Cup in Russia rather than the final squad. Brazil later won the 2019 Copa América, but Arthur was unavailable because of injury. He has represented Brazil at senior level.