Arda Turan will NOT go out on loan from transfer-suspended Barcelona

The Turkish midfielder completed a €41m switch to La Blaugrana from Atletico Madrid last week, subject to whether the club’s new board wish to keep him, and he admitted he did not have to think twice about their offer.

“I’m happy to come to the best club in the world. I’ll try to give the best I’ve got,” he said.

He went on to dispel reports that he would be loaned out until the January window - which is when Barca can officially field new signings again.

Turan's beloved former club Galatasaray were favourites to land the midfielder in any such scenario.

“Those who know me know that I’ve dreamt of playing for Barca since I was a kid," Arda continued.

“I received lots of offers, but when I heard from Barca I pushed all the others aside.

“Nobody can take Xavi’s place because he’s one of a kind in the world of football. He’ll always be a symbol of Barca.

“I’ve always liked having to really fight in order to win; I think here people will see the best Arda.

“I don’t think that anyone has ever been like, nor will anyone ever be like, Messi.

“I don’t care about my shirt number. I’ll decide that after talking to my new team-mates.”

Is there something to this that we've not been made aware of? If not, this is quite insane. Going to Galatasaray on loan seemed to be the perfect move for Turan, under the circumstances. As our friends at Eurosport Turkey pointed out when we ran a feature on the situation, how many players get to have their big homecoming moment at their favourite club when they're not 36 or 37?

Turan would have played in front of adoring fans for six months and slotted into the business end of Barca's various title defences match-fit and with his confidence at an all-time high. Instead, he'll presumably just be training in a relatively uncompetitive environment. Perhaps he feels he will wind up back at Atletico Madrid - after all, his Barca deal could hinge on the result of the upcoming presidential elections at the club...