Brazilian international Lucas Lima has confirmed he will join Barcelona from current club Santos on a free transfer in January.
According to ESPN Brasil, the 26-year-old will sign a long-term deal at the club until 2023 worth €4m per year with the pre-contract to be signed after July 1.
The report states that the player has confirmed to them he has already agreed a move, despite reported concerns from parent club Santos that the Catalans have spoken to the player without their permission.
The midfielder’s deal at the Brazilian club expires at the end of the year and he would move to Camp Nou on a free transfer while he is close friends with Neymar, who is the brother of his girlfriend Raffaela.
Lima has won 14 caps for his home country and is reported to previously have been tracked by Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
"We are happy for him, because of the player that he is," Santos teammate Bruno Henrique is quoted as saying by ESPN.
"He's a player whose quality is not up for debate, a Brazil international. He's helped Santos a lot.
"He is going to be super happy at the team he goes to. We are going to miss him, but life goes on. We wish him a lot of luck in Barcelona."
