Gabriel Jesus has confirmed he took a significant reduction in wages to leave Arsenal and join Barcelona, describing the transfer to the Spanish champions as a “dream”.
Barcelona, who have opened their LaLiga campaign with three consecutive victories, completed the signing of the Brazil forward on Tuesday.
Jesus has agreed a three-year contract with Barca. The club are understood to have paid an initial €10m (£8.6m) for the 29-year-old, with performance-related additions potentially increasing the total fee to €15m (£12.85m).
Speaking at his presentation, Jesus said he was prepared to make a financial sacrifice to secure the move.
“I took a significant salary drop, but it’s a dream to be here,” Jesus confirmed at his presentation.
“But it wasn’t just me who had to make an effort to get the transfer over line, Barca also played their part.
“If you had asked me one month ago, I would have said it was unlikely this would happen. At 29, I didn’t think I would have the chance to come to Barca.”
Jesus moved to Arsenal from Manchester City in 2022, but his time with the Gunners was disrupted by difficulties in maintaining full fitness.
He made 123 appearances for Arsenal and scored 32 goals. Those goals came from chances with a combined expected-goals value of 36.9.
His move to Barcelona makes him the club’s seventh signing of the summer. He will add to a forward line that also includes Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi, both of whom have joined the Blaugrana during the transfer window.
Barcelona had initially been keen to sign Julian Alvarez, but Atletico Madrid refused to sell the Argentina international. Jesus was subsequently brought in as the club strengthened its attacking options.
The Brazilian said he had no problem with the suggestion that Barcelona viewed him as an alternative target.
“It doesn’t annoy me, it doesn’t bother me.
“What annoys me is if people say I’m a bad guy, which has never happened in my life, or if I am not playing football, that bothers me.
“I have the chance to play for Barcelona, a chance I had 10 years ago and now life has offered me that opportunity again.”
Jesus first had the possibility of joining Barcelona a decade ago, but the opportunity did not materialise at that time. He now returns to the prospect of playing for the club after agreeing to leave Arsenal and accept lower wages to make the transfer happen.
Barcelona begin the new campaign as Spanish champions and have made a perfect start in LaLiga, winning each of their first three matches. Jesus will now compete for a place in a reshaped attack alongside Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi.
