Bayern Munich have completed the signing of Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal from Juventus, for a reported fee of £28m.
The 28-year-old has signed a four-year contract with the German champions and underwent a medical on Tuesday morning, prior to being presented to media later on in the day. He has been handed his favoured number 23 jersey by his new club, meaning German goalkeeper Sven Ulreich will be designated another number.
Bayern had announced that they had reached an agreement to sign Vidal last week, though the formalities of the agreement of personal terms and the medical examination were only completed after the player arrived in Bavaria on Monday night.
Upon arrival, Vidal told the club’s website: “I’m very happy. This is a new step in my career and I hope I do well here. I want to help the team and win trophies. It’s a dream come true for me personally.
“I wanted to take another big step forward in my career. I want to keep developing as a player and win important trophies like the Champions League. I think the best opportunity to do so is with Bayern.”
“We (at Juventus, last season) weren’t a long way off winning all three competitions last season. I hope we can pull it off with Bayern. That has to be the target.
“I’m thrilled about playing in the Bundesliga again and obviously hope to win it this time. I didn’t manage it with Leverkusen back then, but with Bayern there’s a very, very good chance.”
The Bayern supremo and the player himself appeared in front of media to make the official announcement, and the player now becomes the fourth player to arrive in Bavaria this summer – following Ulreich, Joshua Kimmich and Brazilian star Douglas Costa.
Pep Guardiola’s side had been in the market for a new central midfielder after offloading Bastian Schweinsteiger to Manchester United earlier this month, and they quickly turned their attention to signing Vidal after he helped Chile to Copa America success.
Bayern initially tried to sign the player in 2011 from former club Bayer Leverkusen, though at the time he chose to move to Italy instead. Over the course of his four year spell with Juventus, the player picked up four Serie A titles and the Coppa Italia, while he also played a crucial role in their path to last season’s Champions League final.