Barcelona have reached an agreement for Arda Turan to return to Turkey with Istanbul Basaksehir on a two-and-a-half year loan deal, the club confirmed on Saturday.
Basaksehir will pay Barca in variables dependent on a number of factors, including appearances and goals, as well as the team's success with Turan at the club.
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
Barca will maintain the right to sell the midfielder to any other club, though, until the expiry of his contract at Camp Nou in 2020.
Turan, who turns 31 at the end of the month, joined Barca for €35 million in 2015 during an election campaign, a signing made by president Josep Maria Bartomeu and backed by Luis Enrique, the club's coach at the time.
However, as Barca were under a transfer ban, he was not able to make his debut until January of the following year.
During his 18 months under Enrique there were highs, including two hat tricks last season, but he was mainly used as a substitute.
Ernesto Valverde replaced Enrique last summer and has not given Turan a single minute of competitive football this season.
The club looked to move him on last summer but his salary, plus the fact he wanted to stay in Catalonia, hindered their hopes of finding a suitor.
Basaksehir confirmed earlier this week that they had agreed personal terms with Turan but that they still had to finalise the deal with Barca.
The club's president Goksel Gumusdag took charge of the negotiations, finally striking a deal with Barca's CEO Oscar Grau late in the week ahead of Saturday's announcement.
To be clear:
— Samuel Marsden (@samuelmarsden) January 13, 2018
- 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)
Turan returns to his homeland, which he left in 2011 when he swapped Galatasaray for Atletico Madrid.
The Turkish international is the first of several players Barcelona expect to see leave this month following the signings of Philippe Coutinho and Yerry Mina.
The need to reduce the size of the squad -- which drops to 25 with Turan's departure -- and the wage bill could see up to four more players make exits.
Javier Mascherano, Gerard Deulofeu, Rafinha and Aleix Vidal are among the other members of Valverde's squad who could leave.