Arsenal Complete £75m Bruno Guimaraes Signing
Arsenal have completed the signing of Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes in a £75 million transfer, with the Brazil international putting pen to paper on a four-year deal after telling Newcastle he wanted a new challenge — taking the Magpies' summer player sales past £240 million.
Deal done: four-year contract, No. 39 shirt
Arsenal have signed midfielder Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle in a £75m transfer, Sky Sports report. The 28-year-old has put pen to paper on a four-year deal with a further one-year option, and will wear the No. 39 shirt at the Emirates.
On the move, Guimaraes said: "I feel amazing. I'm glad for the opportunity. Since the first time I spoke to Berta and Mikel, I was excited. I just felt inside of me that I need a new challenge in my life and I think to be an Arsenal player is going to be an exciting challenge in my life. I'm so excited to join you. I will give you my best, I promise. I'm your warrior, I'll never give up."
'A statement signing' — Berta's message
Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta said: "We are delighted to welcome Bruno Guimaraes to our club. Bruno is a player with a great mentality and great quality, who will bring strong leadership to our squad. With Bruno joining us, we are further strengthening the heart of our team. He combines quality with quantity, and has provided goals and assists for his team every year. Bruno will allow Mikel to further develop our playing style and will also increase our internal competitiveness, which is essential for maintaining the standards required when we are aiming to win major trophies."
Newcastle's £240m summer sell-off
Newcastle had been keen to keep the Brazil international, who had two years left on his contract plus a club-held option for a third, but his departure means the Magpies have now sold more than £240 million worth of talent this summer. Anthony Gordon joined Barcelona in a £69.3m deal and Spurs signed Sandro Tonali for £100m, while head coach Eddie Howe also left the club in what has been a turbulent few months at St James' Park.
A Newcastle statement said: "The agreed fee represents one of the top-10 highest transfer fees ever received for a player aged 28 or over, and a record fee for a player of his age and position combined." Guimaraes told Newcastle bosses earlier this summer that he wanted to join Arsenal if a suitable offer arrived; their opening bid was rejected before the £75m deal was agreed.
'One of the toughest decisions of my life'
Guimaraes joined Newcastle from Lyon in January 2022 for £40m and made 195 appearances for the club, scoring 31 goals and winning the Carabao Cup as captain. On his departure, he said: "This is one of the toughest decisions of my life. When I arrived, the club was in a challenging position and I am incredibly proud of what we achieved together. I fell in love with this place. I really mean that. From my first day, the supporters, my team-mates, Eddie and the staff, and everyone connected with the club made me and my family feel at home. This move is very tough because Newcastle means so much to me, but I wanted to experience something new in my life. To the supporters, thank you will never be enough, but I say it with all my heart."