Hector completes summer switch to Barcelona after terminating Arsenal contract

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By Martin Graham | 2nd Sep 2022

Hector Bellerin is the latest player to join FC Barcelona this summer. The Spaniard joins on a free transfer after seeing his Arsenal contract terminated by mutual consent.

The madness that swept through the Nou Camp this summer is over.

Football clubs can now get down to serious football business as the curtains have fallen on the transfer window. The transfers have been a distraction to the actual business of the season. Every team has to get their act together with the personnel they have until January.

Barcelona were active in the market and worked till the final day trying to get in a few more players, despite the plethora in their ranks. They struggled to get some players off their books, while some remain adamant about staying on at the Nou Camp.

Barcelona were not the only club to be busy in the market, but the sale of their future to secure their today was well publicized. Even in the eleventh hour, they managed to sign Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin. The Spaniard re-joined his boyhood club in the final hours of the transfer window.

Bellerin re-joins Barcelona

Mikel Arteta is overseeing a high-flying Arsenal this season, with few players not in his plans shown the door. In January, the Spaniard ripped up the contract of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to allow the Gabon international to join Barcelona. The summer transfer window has proved no different as the Arsenal gaffer has done Barcelona another favour by ripping up the contract of another Gunner to allow him to join Los Blaugrana.

Bellerin had been eager to join Barcelona. A few contractual issues held him back. Following the termination of his contract by mutual consent, the right-back becomes the latest addition to Barcelona. It has been a long, hard road for the Spanish defender, but finally, the ordeal is over.

Problems at Arsenal, redemption at Betis

It has been difficult for Bellerin to break into Gunner’s first team. Before he departed from the club, Bellerin had become a bit-part player. The £17million arrival of Takehiro Tomiyasu forced the Spaniard down the pecking order.

In January, Bellerin completed a move to La Liga outfit Real Betis on deadline day. He helped Los Verdiblancos to their first title in 17 years. Last season, Real Betis beat Valencia on penalties to claim the Copa del Rey.

Despite the success at Real Betis, Arteta could not find a place in the first eleven for his compatriot. The three-time FA Cup winner was deemed surplus to requirements by Arteta and was not selected in any matchday squad for Arsenal this season.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Bellerin returned to Spain to sign a one-year contract with Barcelona, with no option for a further season. The 27-year-old joins the Catalan giants in a deal that expires in June 2023.

Bellerin was in the final 12 months of his Arsenal contract, and the mutual termination of the deal, means the Spaniard joins Los Blaugrana on a free transfer.