Bayern Munich completed the long-anticipated transfer of Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal from Italian champions Juventus on Tuesday.
The Bundesliga champions said Vidal signed a four-year deal, with an option for another season.
“I wanted to take another big step in my career,” Vidal said in a brief interview on Bayern’s Web site.
Photo: AFP
“I want to develop further as a player and I want to win important titles, such as the Champions League,” he said. “And I see Bayern as the best opportunity for that.”
The player was officially presented later on Tuesday.
Bayern director Matthias Sammer called Vidal a “winner.”
“I find the way he plays football impressive, it’s something special,” Sammer said.
Bayern did not disclose financial details of the contract.
However, Italian media reports suggested Bayern paid 36 million euros (US$39.5 million), rising to 40 million euros with bonuses, to bring the 28-year-old Vidal back to the Bundesliga. If correct, the figures would make Vidal one of the most expensive Bundesliga transfers.
Vidal scored 15 goals and set up 21 more in 117 league games over four seasons for Bayer 04 Leverkusen before leaving for Juventus in 2011.
The rugged midfielder is expected to fill the gap left by the departure of Bastian Schweinsteiger for Manchester United, and to give Pep Guardiola’s team more toughness.
“I am ready to play, if the coach wants me to,” Vidal said about Bayern’s DFL-Supercup match against VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.
Vidal was brought to Germany at age 20 from Chilean club Colo-Colo by then Leverkusen squad director Michael Reschke. Reschke ended his 35-year association with Leverkusen when Bayern appointed him as a director last month.
Vidal helped Juventus to four consecutive Serie A titles and, last season, the Coppa Italia. Barcelona denied the club a treble by winning the Champions League final between them in Berlin.
Vidal, capped 69 times by Chile, helped the team to its first Copa America win on July 5 by scoring in the penalty shootout win over Argentina in the final.
On June 16, he reached a deal with prosecutors to avoid trial after crashing his Ferrari while driving under the influence of alcohol early in the tournament. He apologized for insulting a police officer and agreed to pay compensation to a driver involved in the crash.
Vidal is on a 10-man shortlist for the best player in Europe. Of Juventus’ five players nominated for the UEFA award, only goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and midfielder Paul Pogba remain. Andrea Pirlo and Carlos Tevez have left the club.
This month, Bayern signed Brazil midfielder Douglas Costa from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk for a reported 30 million euros. Costa will help ease Bayern’s concerns over injury-prone wingers Franck Ribery, 32, and Arjen Robben, 31.
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