Barcelona finally completed the signing of Philippe Coutinho earlier this month, securing the player they believe to be the long term heir to Andrés Iniesta.
Life after Iniesta is a situation the Catalan club have been trying to prepare for over the past couple of seasons. The signings of Arda Turan, André Gomes, and the return of Denis Suárez, were all made with that left-central-midfield position in mind, but none of them have lived up to expectations.
The biggest disappoint of all has no doubt been Arda Turan. Signed from Atlético Madrid in 2015, he has only made 55 appearances for Barça, scoring 15 goals.
The midfielder has now moved back to his native Turkey, on a two year loan at İstanbul Başakşehir F.K.
FC Barcelona can announce an agreement has been reached for the loan of @ArdaTuran to Istanbul Basaksehir FK.https://t.co/DJqs1r99ZB
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 13, 2018
Başakşehir will pay Turan’s wages during his time at the club, but Barcelona have retained the right to sell the player elsewhere during the remaining two years of his contract. The Istanbul club will also pay Barça for the player depending on whether he reaches certain targets regarding playing time and goals scored.
To be clear:
– Arda Turan joins İstanbul Başakşehi on two-and-a-half year loan
– Başakşehi pay wages
– Barça will be paid in variables dependent on how Arda does/how often he plays
– Barça maintain the right to sell him during remainder of contract (2020)— Samuel Marsden (@samuelmarsden) January 13, 2018
It’s quite the fall from grace for a player who played a hugely important role in Atlético’s title winning 2013-14 campaign. In the two and a half seasons he spent at the Nou Camp, Arda Turna won six trophies: one Liga, two Copas del Rey, one Spanish Super Cup, one Club World Cup and one European Super Cup. Whether Turan really contributed significantly to any of these triumphs is debatable and he failed to win the Champions League with Barcelona, as he stated was his dream upon arriving in Catalonia.
