Arturo Vidal

Born

1987-05-22

Birthplace

Santiago, Chile

Biography

Arturo Erasmo Vidal Pardo (born 22 May 1987) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Spanish club Barcelona and the Chile national team. His displays during his time at Juventus led him to be nicknamed Il Guerriero ("The Warrior"), Rey Arturo ("King Arthur") and La Piranha by the Italian press due to his hard-tackling and aggressive, tenacious style of play. Vidal started his career with Colo-Colo, where he won three Chilean Primera División titles. He moved to Europe, where he joined Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and played there for four seasons. He then moved to Juventus in 2011, where he became widely recognized as one of the best midfielders in world football. At Juventus, he won the Scudetti in all four of his seasons and also was integral for them in reaching the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final. Vidal was named to the ten-man shortlist for the 2015 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award following his performances. On 28 July 2015, Vidal returned to the Bundesliga, joining Bayern Munich and won three consecutive Bundesliga titles. After three years at Munich, he signed for La Liga giants Barcelona. Vidal has earned 115 caps for the Chile national team since his debut in 2007, playing in the 2011, 2015 and 2019 Copa América tournaments, as well as the Copa América Centenario, the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, helping his nation to Copa América victory in 2015 and 2016.