Arda Turan has revealed that Barcelona rejected an offer from a Chinese club for him while also revealing that it was a massive €50 million offer.
Chinese clubs were on a spending spree earlier this year when they snapped up Jackson Martinez, Ramires, Hulk and also Alex Teixeira. Many other players such as Wayne Rooney and Yaya Toure were also targeted but didn’t make the move to the Asian country.
Speaking to Beyaz TV on Saturday, Turan said: "Last season, a club from China have offered €50m to Barcelona for me but they rejected it because I'm a long-term project." The midfielder was signed by the Catalan club in the summer of 2015 but was only eligible to pay for the club from January 2016 as the La Liga side was banned from registering new players.
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Turan has not had a good start to his career at Camp Nou and was a linked with a move away from Barcelona during the summer. The former Atletico Madrid man was asked if there was any truth in the rumours of him being put on the transfer list and he said: “Barcelona didn't sign me just for 6 months.”
Also read: La Liga 2016-17: Arda Turan says he wants to end his career with Barcelona
The bid for the midfielder is said to have come in January itself - a time when he had just started playing for the club. The bid was straight away rejected by Barcelona that time but things might have been different if it was in the summer.
Chelsea, Juventus, and even Inter Milan were linked with a move for Arda Turan this summer after speculations that Luis Enrique was not impressed with the Turkish International. With Barcelona signing Paco Alcácer from Valencia, it was speculated that he would be definitely moving away.
Barcelona are currently 4th in the La Liga table with 13 points - 2 behind league leaders, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. The Catalan club suffered a shock defeat at home to Deportivo Alavés and then had Messi ruled out with an injury.
Turan has stepped up and performed well this season - notching up 2 goals and 3 assists in his 7 appearances for the Catalan club. He has taken his opportunity with both hands and that has forced Luis Enrique to start him over Paco Alcacer whenever the chance presents itself.
Messi is set to return to the first team this weekend but Neymar might be rested following his on-field mishap while playing for Brazil. Barcelona are home to Deportivo de La Coruña and would hope to secure the 3 points to keep the pressure on Real Madrid.
