Barcelona flop Arda Turan rules out Turkey move, says he remains happy at Nou Camp

Arda Turan has reiterated his plans to continue at Barcelona despite several reports linking him with an imminent move to the Turkish Süper Lig.

The La Liga giants have been trying to get rid of the 30-year-old midfielder since the beginning of summer, after he was deemed surplus to requirements by new manager Ernesto Valverde.

Arsenal and some Chinese clubs were all linked with his services, but such a move is now completely ruled out as the transfer windows in the Premier League and the Chinese Super League are closed.

Mundo Deportivo and several other publications reported on Monday morning (4 September) that Barcelona were still hopeful of reaching an agreement with a Turkish side to take the player before the transfer window closes in the midfielder's homeland on Friday.

The reports claimed that the Barcelona were ready to let him go on loan despite Catalan's previous intent to sell him and recoup a part of the €34m (£31.2m, $40.5m) investment they made to lure him from Atletico only two years ago.

However, Turan has now ruled out that possibility after claiming that he is "happy" at the Nou Camp.

"I'm staying. I'm very happy here and I have a contract for another three years," Turan said to the Turkish media, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.

Galatasaray president Dursun Ozbek recently claimed that they would welcome Turan back at the Türk Telekom Stadium after the player impressed in the Turkish Süper Lig from 2004 to 2011.

"Arda supports Galatasaray, he is very fond of the club, Arda is going to serve this club again," Ozbek said in August during a press conference, as quoted by AS. "The only option for him to play in Turkey is here, we want Arda to retire at Galatasaray. We are working to sort it out, the conditions of the transfer."

However, Turan has now said: "Galatasaray is my home but I know they don't want me now [due to the fans]. I don't want to harm the team."

Valverde will now need to decide whether to give Turan a chance to resurrect his career at the Nou Camp after the former Atletico Madrid failed to feature in any of the first four games of the 2017-2018 campaign – even being left out of the squad entirely during the defeats to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup and in the La Liga 2-0 victory over Alaves.

The Barcelona manager has included him in the squad for the Champions League after the club failed to bolster its midfielder further in the summer with the addition of top targets like Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho and Paris Saint-Germain's Angel Di Maria.