<
>

Barcelona's Arthur charged with drink driving after crashing Ferrari - sources

Barcelona's Arthur Melo has been charged with drink driving after crashing his Ferrari in Palafrugell, a coastal town in Catalonia, sources have confirmed to ESPN.

Arthur was spotted by police at 4 a.m. on Monday morning after steering his car onto the pavement on one of the main roads into Palafrugell, which is about 130km north of the city of Barcelona.

- Stream FC Daily on ESPN+
- Insider Notebook: Arsenal investigate £72m Pepe transfer

Tests revealed that Arthur had 0.55 milligrams of alcohol per millilitre of blood. The legal limit in Spain is 0.5.

No other cars were involved in the accident and no-one suffered any injuries, although there was some minor damage done to Arthur's Ferrari.

The Brazil international was charged on the spot but was then allowed to leave, with one of the passengers in the car given permission to drive.

Police sources told ESPN that Arthur could be summoned to appear in court at a later date, with the risk of a large fine and the possibility of having his driving license revoked.

Arthur, 24, is also facing disciplinary action from Barca after travelling to Brazil and failing to report back for training last month.

The midfielder is due to join Juventus next season after the two clubs agreed on a deal worth up to €82 million but he remains a Barca player for now.

However, he told the club in July that he felt he had been mistreated since the transfer was announced and that he would play no part in the club's Champions League campaign.

Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu subsequently announced the club would take disciplinary action against him for showing a "lack of respect" towards the club.

Arthur eventually returned to Barcelona earlier in August but was not part of the squad which travelled to Lisbon for the final eight of the Champions League.