On 8 November 2026, at the Estadio Nelson Oyarzún in Chillán, Arturo Erasmo Vidal Pardo opened the scoring against Ñublense in the 13th minute. Colo-Colo won 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Marcos Bolados and clinched the 2026 Chilean league title, the club’s 35th top-flight championship. For the midfielder, born on 22 May 1987 in San Joaquín, Santiago, it was another trophy with the club that developed him and to which he had returned in January 2024, after more than sixteen years in Germany, Italy, Spain and Brazil.
Youth and first titles at Colo-Colo
Vidal grew up in San Joaquín and came through the Colo-Colo academy before breaking into the first team. In 2006 he was part of the squad that won both the Apertura and the Clausura, and that same year the club reached the final of the Copa Sudamericana, which it lost. The 2007 Apertura completed three straight league titles and closed his first spell at the club, which he left for Europe that summer.
Leverkusen and the move to Europe
In July 2007 Bayer Leverkusen bought 70 per cent of his playing rights. He made his debut for the German side on 19 August 2007 and spent four seasons there, until 2011. Germany shaped the player he would become: a box-to-box midfielder who could also sit in front of the defence or, on occasion, play at centre-back, known for his tackling, marking, anticipation, strength in the air and accuracy from the penalty spot.
Four straight titles with Juventus
On 22 July 2011 he joined Juventus, who paid €10.5 million for a five-year deal. Under Antonio Conte he won Serie A in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, as well as the Supercoppa Italiana in 2012 and 2013 and the Coppa Italia in 2015. The Italian press nicknamed him “Il Guerriero” and “King Arthur”. In 2015 he played in the Champions League final in Berlin, which Juventus lost to Barcelona.
Bayern Munich and Barcelona
On 28 July 2015 he signed a four-year contract with Bayern Munich. In Bavaria he won three consecutive Bundesliga titles (2016, 2017 and 2018), the 2016 DFB-Pokal and the German Super Cup in 2016 and 2017. In August 2018 he moved to FC Barcelona, where he won the 2018 Spanish Super Cup and the 2018-19 La Liga title.
Inter, Flamengo and Athletico Paranaense
Inter Milan confirmed his arrival on 22 September 2020. In Milan he won Serie A in 2020-21, the 2021 Supercoppa Italiana and the 2021-22 Coppa Italia, before his contract was terminated on 11 July 2022. Days later he signed for Flamengo, with whom he won the Copa Libertadores and the Copa do Brasil in 2022. In July 2023 he joined Athletico Paranaense, where a knee injury kept him out of action from that September.
Chile national team
Before his senior debut, Vidal finished as the second-highest scorer at the 2007 South American U-20 Championship with six goals and scored twice at that year’s U-20 World Cup in Canada, where Chile came third. His first senior cap came in a friendly against Venezuela on 7 February 2007, a 1-0 win. He started all four of Chile’s matches at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and also played at Brazil 2014; on both occasions Chile went out to Brazil in the round of 16, the second time on penalties. On 4 July 2015 he converted his kick in the shoot-out of the Copa América final against Argentina, which gave Chile its first continental title. A year later Chile won again at the Copa América Centenario, where he scored both goals in a group-stage win over Bolivia. By June 2025 he had won 147 caps and scored 34 goals for Chile.
Return to Colo-Colo
On 22 January 2024 he rejoined Colo-Colo. That year he won the Chilean Super Cup and the Primera División title, and in December 2024 he qualified as a football coach. Two years later he was a league champion with the club again: his goal in Chillán on 8 November 2026 opened the match that sealed the title with three rounds to spare.
Colo-ColoMidfielderMarket value €2.9M