Barcelona’s forgotten man Arda Turan hopes to get second chance under Setien
Arda Turan has revealed he is still a Barcelona player despite not featuring for the club for almost three years.
The Turkish winger’s last appearance for Barcelona came in April 2017, starting in a 7-1 La Liga win over Osasuna although he was also an unused substitute at the start of the 2017/18 season.
Turan has spent the past two years on loan in Turkey with Istanbul Basaksehir but his spell with the club has been full of controversies.
Arda Turan’s Barcelona future: Five things to know…
- Turan joined Barcelona from Atletico Madrid in 2015.
- He has made just 55 appearances for the side since then, spending the past two years on loan with Istanbul Basaksehir.
- However, his time in Turkey has been full of controversies.
- And in January 2020, his loan was terminated early.
- Turan has revealed he is still a Barcelona player, hinting at a potential desire to feature again.
At the end of his first season with Basaksehir, Turan was sent off in a league match for pushing an assistant referee. He was initially banned for 16 games but saw that reduced by 10 games.
However, that ban cut into the start of his first full campaign in Instanbul, with Turan playing just 14 league games garnering 705 minutes. Nine more appearances in the league came at the start of this season but only two of those were starts.
In January 2020, Turan saw his loan move terminated following off-field issues, but he did not return to Barcelona. Turan’s contract with Barcelona is up at the end of the season, however, the 33-year-old appears to harbour some hopes of featuring for them once more.
“I have made mistakes, of course. But it’s not like I’m done,” he said.
“When I start playing football three months from now, I can be better than everyone else after three or four games. I can still be like the old Arda Turan.
“I want to play football for a club where I can feel happy. I can still play football at a high level for four or five years.
“I have a contract with Barcelona. I wanted it to be the case until the end of the season. This is what I wanted.”
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Turan planning new move next season
Despite confirming he is still a Barcelona player, Turan also went on to speak about his future, revealing he will most likely be playing outside of Spain and Turkey — unless Galatasaray come calling.
“I’ll probably continue playing at a foreign club next season,” he said.
“A club outside of Turkey but if Galatasaray call me, I’ll be delighted to help and without any conditions. Galatasaray is the only club who I would join without conditions.”